


Brother Of Mine

by BosieD



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 02:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 58,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BosieD/pseuds/BosieD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek isn't even on Stiles's radar.  Stiles rescues Derek's brother.  Sort of.  Romance blossoms from heroism.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Resurrection

Prologue:

“We’ll need to grab one of those filthy mutts before we torch that shithole,” Tom advised, staring at Kate Argent’s chin. He knew it was never a good idea to look directly at her eyes when suggesting a change in plans. Tom and Kate were sitting in a small office building attached to a small strip mall on the outskirts of Beacon Hills. They’d broken in the night before with a few other Hunters to get some supplies set up and to finalize their plans to burn down the Hale house with all of its residents. 

“And why would we do that? The whole purpose of this little… endeavor… is to get rid of the entire pack,” she responded in a clipped voice. 

Tom thought for a moment and finally answered, “Leverage if we need it. Also, having a live mutt gives us a chance to learn more about their weaknesses if nothing else. Think about it: We get a young one, learn its limitations, maybe even house train the damn thing to use against other wolves. When are we going to get an opportunity like this again?” He looked into her eyes, knowing he should look back down but not wanting her to dismiss him. He knew this would be a good plan.

“I don’t like this, Tom. You’re acting like you want a pet, that’s all I’m getting out of this. Why don’t you just buy yourself a poodle, dye the damn thing pink, and get mushy with that? We kill them all and that’s final. Am I clear?” Kate stared at Tom, gauging his reaction. She would have to take him down a peg after this was all over to make it clear that no one would challenge her decisions. She might let him live but he’d have some serious scars to remind him not to disagree with her. She’d just have to decide whether they’d be knife scars or bullet scars. She grinned, showing some teeth and watched his eyes drop down again.

“Copy that, boss,” he acknowledged. “No mutts left when we’re done.”

“Get Charlie and Quinn in here now. We need to go over the final details one last time and head over there tonight,” Kate ordered. Tom turned around and walked outside to get the other Hunters. 

*****

Emily’s cell phone rang at 11:43 p.m. She was instantly awake and answered quietly, “Hello?” She didn’t want to wake her husband up so she pulled the covers back as gently as she could and padded out of the room and over to the top of the stair case. “Who is this?”

“Emily, this is Tom Berringer. I know that you don’t know me but we have a friend in common. I was told to call you when things got out of hand.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Berringer. What I know is that it’s almost midnight and my husband will want to know why I’m getting phone calls in the middle of the night,” she hissed into the phone.

“Get over to the Hale home, Emily. There is a shed on the West side of the property. You’ll find something there that you’ll need to pick up. If you’re not there within an hour, you’ll be too late.” Tom hung up and walked back into the office where he knew Kate, Quinn and Charlie would be waiting for him to finish loading the guns and packing the flash lights and other supplies they’d need on this slaughter run.

 

*****

Emily pulled up onto the long road that led up to the Hale house. She had seen the smoke a few miles back and could now feel the ashen grit tickle the back of her throat. She was getting more and more scared as she neared the home. By the time she managed to get around to the back of the house, her eyes were stinging and parts of the house had started collapsing. The sound of sirens was muffled by the smoke and sounds of fire popping and cracking but she knew they were on their way. She drove over the dirt and rock path that led to the small shed and parked at a slight angle. She jumped out of the car and ran up to the shed. The door was locked but the wood cracked when she kicked it. A couple more kicks and the door scraped along the ground and gave way. A small boy with obsidian hair was tied up and scooting back up against the wall when he saw her, eyes seeming to glow in the smoky gloom of the small shed. He was wearing Buzz Lightyear pajamas that were filthy with mud and leaves. Emily pushed down her panic and spoke as calmly as she could to the boy. Tear tracks cut the ash on his face but he refused to say anything to Emily. He sniffed the air and Emily stopped. The silencer covered the sound but did nothing to hide the spot that appeared in her forehead. The blood dripped between her eyes and Emily Stilinski fell roughly, dead before she hit the floor. Gerard Argent stepped over her corpse and grimaced at the boy before grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the shed.

 

*****

 

 

 

 

6 Years Later

 

1\. what the water wants is hurricanes

 

In which we pick up from the drama camp that is Gerard

Stiles Stilinski watched Lydia Martin go up to Jackson Whittemore and wrap him in her arms. Jackson had become a true werewolf, shedding the curse of the Kanima because of Lydia’s love for him. A part of Stiles’s heart stopped, emotion overwhelming him and his eyes watered. He opened and closed his hand into a fist, trying to focus on ragged fingernails biting into his palm over and over. He finally looked away when the sadness caused his stomach to cramp, the pain a physical reminder of his chances with Lydia slipping out of reach. 

Stiles had scabs forming on his face where he’d been punched and bruises all over his chest, stomach and legs where he’d be kicked. Allison’s crazy Hunter grandfather, Gerard Argent, had made sure to damage him as much as possible without killing him or causing permanent damage. He scanned the warehouse and noticed that Gerard’s body was gone. Actually, he can’t remember if anyone checked to see if he was dead. He had to remove himself from the situation in front of him; if he watched Lydia with Jackson any more, he was sure that a panic attack would come and he couldn’t handle that on top of everything else. Stiles saw a trail of black blood slick along the floor. Gerard had either dragged himself or been dragged toward what looked like a tiny break room. Stiles inched forward realizing he had nothing to protect himself and looked around. Peter had snuck up beside him and had his finger pressed against his lips. 

“Dude,” Stiles stammered in a loud whisper, “are you trying to give me coronary?” Peter clamped his hand over Stiles’s mouth quickly. He removed his hand only after making eye contact with Stiles and making sure he understood that they needed complete silence while he sniffed the air. He took the lead, letting Stiles follow. Peter made no sound. He looked into the break room and saw no sign of Gerard but his blackened blood was everywhere, looking like something from a cheesy horror film. The table, both chairs, and even the time clock had what looked to be gallons of blood dripping onto the floor. A sign that read, “Remember to wear your ear plugs! A safe place to work is a fun place to work!” and had a smiling young woman staring at them with Gerard’s blood pouring down her throat made Stiles begin to panic. 

“I can’t… I can’t do this…” he muttered. He backed up and slumped down against one of the columns near the room. 

Peter looked back to check on Stiles and seeing he was nearby, walked further into the break room. A loud noise, followed by Peter growling caused Stiles to jump to his feet and run into the room. Peter was fully wolfed out in his Beta form and snarling. He’d found a trap door in the room and when he opened it, a ladder descended into what Stiles assumed was a sewer, if the smell was anything to go by. Also, a shotgun pointed at Peter’s face with a very calm hand holding it. 

“Step back, mutt,” the Hunter said. “Close this back up and walk away.”

Peter continued to growl, his chest reverberating and Stiles could feel his throat tightening. Derek, hearing the growl and no doubt the Hunter’s words, appeared in the doorway. Peter knew he wasn’t going to be faster than the Hunter. He slowly raised his clawed fingers up and put them slowly on the edge of the trap door. He started lowering it and when it was almost closed, dropped it. The sound was deafening. 

Stiles couldn’t breathe and his eyes started seeing sparks. He wasn’t going to faint. He wasn’t going to… Stiles dropped like a rock and Derek caught him before he could hit his head on the blood covered table. Peter had resumed his human form and reached over to take Stiles from Derek’s arms. He carried him out into the open area of the warehouse and set him down gently in the Jeep. He backed up into the shadows. No point in reminding the remaining Hunters that he was here.

Allison was arguing with Chris Argent, her father, about finding her grandfather’s body. Scott stared openly at Allison, still in love with her but afraid to go near her and not sure if he could even trust her after everything. She was tense and he could smell her exhaustion and fear. He was worried that she might attack her father, her hand close to the knife attached to her belt. 

“Dad, this is ridiculous. We need to make sure he’s dead and if not, we need to kill him. You saw what he did, what he will do to us if he turns,” Allison almost yelled. 

“Allison, what I do know is that we just lost your mother and I’m not sure I can handle killing my father, too,” Chris challenged just as loudly.

Allison faltered, “What do you mean, killing your father, too?! Did you kill Mom?” Her voice was deadly quiet, her hand gripping the handle of her knife, ready to unsheathe it. She knew she had to be willing to use it if she removed it. 

Chris stepped back. “We’re not having this conversation here, Allison. Come on, we’re leaving. Now.”

Allison backed up, away from her father. She looked at Scott, distrust in his eyes. She turned around and saw Stiles sitting at a weird angle in his Jeep, still passed out. Lydia was still wrapped around Jackson, both of them crying softly limned in the headlights of the Jeep no one had turned off. Derek with his arms crossed stared at her, jaw set. She saw no one she could turn to. She walked out of the hole in the wall Stiles had driven through to get to Jackson for Lydia. 

Chris stared after her but did not follow.

Derek walked over to where Peter was skulking in the shadows and motioned for him to follow. They left the warehouse and drove away in Derek’s Camaro. 

Scott walked over to Stiles and bucked him up in the passenger’s seat of the Jeep. He walked around to the driver’s side and jumped in. The keys were still in the Jeep so he backed up carefully trying not to do any more damage to the wall or the Jeep, and drove Stiles home. 

When they arrived, he looked around for the Sheriff’s car. Fortunately, Stiles’s father wasn’t here so he parked the Jeep and tried to wake Stiles up. Stiles’s chin was resting on his chest but when Scott nudged him, his arms pin-wheeled back and hit the roof of the Jeep. 

“Ow! Scott, what the hell,” Stiles spit out. “That hurt!”

“I only nudged you, dude. You’re the one who threw your hands into the roof like a mad man.” Scott pointedly looked over to the house. “You need to get some sleep. It’s been a rough night. Hell, a rough couple of weeks but it’s over. Gerard is dead and Peter and Derek are gone.” 

“Gerard’s dead? You saw the body?” Stiles asked.

Scott hesitated a bit. “Well, no but with that much blood, there’s no way he could have lived.”

“Peter had his throat ripped out and he came back. I want to see a body. Take me back there, now!” Stiles realized that he was in his own car and pushed open the door to walk around to get into the driver’s seat. Scott got out of the car and refused to give Stiles the keys. 

“I’m going to go home, Stiles. I’m taking your keys. Stay here. Sleep. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Scott walked up to Stiles’s front door and unlocked it and gently pushed Stiles in before he turned around and sprinted down the street. 

Stiles stood in the doorway, watching Scott run down the street. He turned around and shut the door behind him, his traitorous brain refusing to shut down. If Gerard was still alive, he could come after Stiles again and finish what he started. Stiles knew his father couldn’t lose him, not after they’d found the body of his mother at the Hale house after the fire had died down. No one knew why she’d been at the Hale house or why she’d been murdered outside of the house when everyone else had burned alive inside. Stiles was 10 when it happened but he still remembers his father’s grief, knowing something was terribly wrong even before his father told him that his mother was dead, that she was never coming home again, and that he was so sorry. Sorry for everything. 

Stiles broke a little the day his father told him, and while he compartmentalized that, the hole inside kept growing and he had to do more and more every day to not break down and finally deal with his sorrow. Usually, sarcasm and deflection served him well. He also focused on school work, making sure to test into AP classes where he could. The doctors he saw kept him on Adderall but added a low dose of antidepressants to help deal with the grief. He’d since stopped the antidepressants; he didn’t like feeling like a zombie all of the time. More importantly to Stiles, brushing the pain aside didn’t feel right to him. He felt like he was disrespecting the memory of his mother.

Stiles made his way to the stairs and headed up into his room to grab some pajamas. He took a quick shower, wanting to stay in the hot spray longer but his body betrayed him, demanding sleep. He toweled off and put on the long sleep pants. Barefoot, he walked into the hallway, feeling the cool air in the house on his damp torso and when he entered his room, saw his reflection in the mirror standing in the corner. He looked terrible. The splotchy yellow purple bruises over his kidneys blending into the ones around his ribs. Gerard’s hands had pressed bruises into his neck and those were an angry ochre, sore but manageable. He slipped on a t-shirt, hiding most of the evidence of his beatings. His father had already seen the bruises and cuts on his face, neck, and arms but Stiles knew he’d flip if he knew the extent of the damage. 

Stiles flopped down onto his bed, still unmade from the night before and rested his head on the pillow. “Jesus, I fainted in front of everyone. My life sucks!” he said out loud to the empty house as he remembered. His face flushed, humiliated even alone, Stiles fell asleep wondering if he’d lost what little dignity he had left.

 

2\. and sailboats to ride on its back

 

Stiles

Stiles woke up to the worst head ache he can remember ever having. The rain outside was slamming full force into the window like a rampant Tommy gun. Stiles realized it was light out and looked at the clock by his bed. 10:30 already. Stiles groaned and checked for his father’s car. He’d parked it on the street and looking down, Stiles saw his Jeep was parked nearly sideways in the driveway. ‘Great,’ he thought, ‘now I’ll get a nice lecture about courtesy and questioned if I’ll need to retake Driver’s Ed. Thanks, Scott.’ He made a mental note to have a chat with Scott about parking. Ridiculous. Stupid werewolves.

He was still muttering to himself as he walked toward the stairs when he remembered the horrors of the previous night and stopped mid mutter. He walked quietly and slowly down the stairs, knowing that his dad would be sleeping. He needed to get some breakfast and head over to Scott’s to chew him out, ask if he needed to relearn how to park, and to get his keys back. He had some serious work to do today and he wanted to get started. After rushing through a bowl of Captain Krunch, he rinsed his dishes, set them in the dishwasher, and went back upstairs into his room to grab some clean clothes. He took another shower, brushed his teeth, and when he was dressed, headed out onto the street to walk the 10 minutes over to Scott’s, getting angrier and angrier and wetter and wetter with each step. A bolt of lightning sheared through the clouds, startling him and making him wish he’d worn at least a rain coat. 

Ms. McCall met him at the door after he rapped his knuckles quickly against it. “Stiles, good morning,” she smiled at him. “Why’d you knock, sweetie? I know you have a key to the door. Come on in and I’ll get you a towel.”

“Hey, Ms. McCall. Scott sort of borrowed,” he dropped his voice, “stole,” and back to his regular voice continued, “my keys last night. I just need to pick them up and I’ll be on my way.” He smiled brightly like he wasn’t completely pissed off and she ushered him into the house and called up to Scott. She knew he could hear her just fine if she’d whispered even but she liked to keep some normalcy in her life.

Scott ran down the stairs in his boxers. ‘No modesty, whatsoever,’ Stiles thought to himself. Not like he needed it. Scott was ripped. The whole werewolf thing basically turned anyone into an Abercrombie model. Stiles was jealous of Scott’s body but also happy he didn’t have to worry about the whole monthly hormone party that accompanied the shift. 

“Dude. Keys. Now,” Stiles said, trying to keep his emotions in check. He knew Scott could smell his emotions and being irate probably wouldn’t make Scott want to hand them over. Scott did sniff at Stiles, not even trying to be subtle, and apparently not noticing too much out of sorts, handed Stiles his keys. 

“We good, man?” Scott asked. 

“Good like gravy, dude. I’ve got stuff to do, yes, dates to make, keep, you know, chicks to woo, and everything else a stud muffin schedule needs to be maintained,” Stiles spilled out. “Bye, Ms. M,” he said before he turned and rushed out the door and back into the rain in a hurry to get back home and to his Jeep. 

He was a lot calmer and if was even possible, a lot wetter, by the time he got to his Jeep, planning out what he needed to do. First he needed to dry off and grab a flash light and some rubber boots. If he was going to be prospecting in a sewer, he wanted something he could throw away. He dried off and changed his shirts and pants. He grabbed his lacrosse stick just in case. After grabbing a flash light, checking the batteries, and grabbing his phone, he hopped into his Jeep and headed back to the warehouse. He was going to find out where that trap door went.

 

Derek

Derek went out into the rain and shifted into his Beta form. He ripped his shirt off and headed into the forest. He enjoyed running through the woods of the Hale property, letting his feet lead him where they would, giving himself time to think. Peter was back and Derek wasn’t sure where he stood with him. The fact that he was willing to help Stiles, one of Scott’s pack, made Derek question everything. Uncle Peter was family and Derek couldn’t trust him. Also, since he’d been the one to kill him, he wasn’t too sure Peter trusted him, either. The situation was tense but Peter seemed to be going out of his way to make Derek relax around him. Derek was going to have to guard himself around Peter, but for now, Peter wasn’t his most pressing concern; his pack was. 

Boyd and Erica had abandoned him. An Alpha without Betas wasn’t worth much. Even the smallest packs required at least 3 Betas and Derek was down to one, Peter. Isaac had made it pretty clear that he stood with Scott and Scott had made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with Derek. If he could just convince Scott to work with him, he’d see how much better they could be together, instead of fighting each other. Derek had told Scott that they were brothers and if they were, well, they were estranged now. 

Peter had told Derek that he’d offered the bite to Stiles while they were driving back to the shell of the Hale estate. Derek was silent, wanting to ask why but not wanting Peter to have a position of power, of knowing more than Derek, so he said nothing. Peter didn’t elaborate beyond telling Derek that Stiles had refused. 

So, Peter was interested in having Stiles as pack, Derek had no pack, and Gerard was possibly still alive. Derek knew that these were all huge problems and he still couldn’t figure out what was going on with the symbol that had been left on his door. The symbol for an Alpha pack. Derek knew that an Alpha pack existed but why would they come here, to Beacon Hills? A small town with very little in the way of supernatural activity. Derek wondered if the power vacuum left by the death of his family had attracted them. While he’d been part of a small pack, they’d been well liked and respected in the werewolf community, such as it was. They were left alone and in turn, left others alone. 

Before he knew it, Derek had run to the small lake at the edge of his property. He sat down on a rock and enjoyed the rain that had lightened to not much more than a sprinkle. While he cooled down, he tried to work through some of his problems. He could look for more Betas. With Peter’s help… No, he’d have to do it alone. He wouldn’t want to make it any easier for Peter to turn one of his pack against him. He could still look for the scents that had drawn him to Boyd, Erica, and Isaac. The scents of inadequacy and low self-esteem (a bundled smell like orange peels and locker room, not very delicate, but strong and easily recognizable) and a desire to belong to something were the simplest to work with. Social outcasts were easiest because they wanted to badly to be taken care of and were often ignored instead. As for Peter, that would have to play out as it would. He couldn’t kill him again without the guilt parade that he knew would follow it without sufficient reason.  
Scott, that was going to be difficult. He had basically watched Derek and Peter eviscerate his girlfriend’s grandfather. Even though Scott poisoned him, the violent attack may have been a step too far. A step Derek would have taken regardless. He knew how powerful a werewolf’s ability to heal was. There was no way he was going to give Gerard a chance to survive if he could help it. 

The toughest challenge Derek was facing was finding Gerard’s body (or Gerard alive, if he still was). He knew others were searching as well. He knew he’d gone down into the sewage tunnel. His sense of smell would be useless down there, overwhelmed by the raw sewage he could smell wafting up from the open trap door when Peter had opened it last night. He’d be able to see in the dark, however, maybe able to track the seemingly never ending supply of blood Gerard had leaked from his (maybe) dying body.

Derek got up from the rock and headed back to the house. He took his time, jogging and walking and the rain finally tapered off. When he arrived an hour later, he saw that Allison had shown up and was sitting on the front porch. She didn’t turn her head but she knew he’d returned.

“Derek.”

“Allison,” he said. “What do you want?”

“I can’t go home. I can’t go to Scott’s. I don’t know what to do, Derek. My family lied to me and my grandfather tried to kill me. Please, I know you hate me but please, help me fix this. Fix myself,” Allison begged.

“You made it very clear that you are in Scott’s pack, not mine,” Derek said stoically as he walked closer to her. “I don’t know what you think I can do for you. I killed your mother.”

“You didn’t kill her, my dad did,” and Allison broke down into tears. She hadn’t cried the night before but everything she had been holding back she released. She hugged Derek, fiercely. He was stunned by the contact and at first stood there, not moving. After a moment, he put his arms around her and waited for her to calm down. 

Still crying, she told him about the letter from Gerard, how he had changed what her mother had written and placed all of the blame on Derek. She told him that she was sure that her father had killed her mother at her mother’s request because she did not want to turn into a werewolf. She told him that she loved Scott but had no idea how to fix it. Derek was pretty sure that by coming to him, she’d hurt her chances even more but he didn’t bring that up. After she was done, Derek put his fingers gently under her chin and lifted her face up so she was looking into her eyes. 

“Allison, you can stay with me but you have to understand, if you try your Hunter crap here, I will put you down with no hesitation. You need to tell your father where you are. I will not have him hunting me and mine because you’re having a family crisis. You will also be training with me and Peter. There are… complications that must be dealt with. Your father will not be happy that you’re with me. He needs to know that this is your decision and not mine,” Derek said.

Allison nodded. “Okay. Can I use your phone? I left mine at home and I really don’t want to go back there right now so it would be easier to call.”

Derek handed his phone over without a word. He had said more than should have needed to be said but he wanted no complications (even though he knew that by not denying Allison, he’d have an entirely new set of problems to deal with soon enough).

Allison turned around, presumably for privacy even though she knew Derek would be able to hear both sides of the conversation without even trying. “Dad, it’s me.” She paused and then said, “Please, don’t say anything until I’m done. I need a break from you and just my family in general. I love you. I know you had to make a tough choice. I don’t think it was the right one. I’m… I’m with Derek right now. I don’t want to see you, or Scott, or anyone right now.”

Derek heard her father start asking if she’d been coerced, if Derek was holding her against her will.

“Dad!” Allison shouted. “I just begged Derek Hale to take me in. I’m standing in front of his destroyed home, a home my family, your sister, burned to the ground. Do you think he just waltzed up and asked me I wanted to play house? This is my only option. I don’t trust you. I don’t trust Scott. You know who hasn’t lied to me? Derek. I have to go. Do not come here. I will find you when I can talk to you. When I can even look at you without feeling rage. I love you, Daddy. Good bye.” With that, Allison hung up the phone, tears coursing down her filthy cheeks.

“Well,” Derek said, “I guess I’ll give you the tour.” And with that, he led her into the broken home. 

 

Stiles

Stiles had left his father a note letting him know he’d be out for a bit but back in time for dinner. He’d left it purposely vague. He wasn’t sure if Scott would be quick enough to cover for him this time. He parked a few blocks away and walked to the warehouse in the rain, not surprised to see a construction crew working on the wall. He wasn’t sure how he was going to sneak in and make it to the trap door without drawing attention to himself. He was in his typical plaid button down with a “Free Willy” t-shirt on underneath. He’d put on his rubber rain boots and had a back pack with the flash light and the gun. He went for the direct approach, walking to the front door (who knew there was actually a door to this place) instead of making a door like he’d done the night before. No one was in the front office area so he walked toward what he guessed was the direction of the break room. 

Miraculously, he got to the trap door without seeing a single person. He figured they must be all outside watching the wall get repaired. Someone had cleaned up the blood from the floor and furniture. The poster must have been a lost cause because that was wadded up and in the huge trash can by the door. Stiles lifted up the trap door and descended into the dark. He took out his flashlight and turned it on. He immediately saw Gerard’s blood on the small walkway along the main sewage path. He followed the smears and drops that he could see, surprised that there was still so much blood. 

The smell was making it difficult to breathe. Stiles was gagging and trying to be quiet at the same time. Not really working well for him. He followed the trail for about half an hour before he came to a rusted ladder. He found more of the dark blood and wished he had some gloves before he set his hand on the cleanest spot he could find and climbed up the ladder. The grate above him was heavy. He barely managed to lift it and wedge it with his flashlight when he heard voices from within the sewer. He tried to turn off the flash light but he couldn’t reach the switch where it was wedged. He willed himself to be invisible but that didn’t work, either. Damn it. He decided to try to move the cover and climb out to escape. He finally lifted the cover enough to flip it back and it crashed down with the loudest noise he’d ever heard. The voices stopped and he could hear footsteps running toward him from below. He shuffled up the remaining rungs of the ladder and was hoisted out of the hole by Gerard Argent, looking healthy and decidedly wolfish.

“Well, hello there, Mr. Stilinski. How are you on this dreary day?”

Stiles, cheeky as ever answered, “Pretty great, Mr. Argent. Tortured any teenagers lately?”

Gerard smiled wholeheartedly. “Not lately, but I think that’s about to change.” With that he slammed Stiles’s head into the wall and slung him over his shoulder.

 

*****

Stiles woke up to what had to trump even that morning’s terrible head ache. He was tied up and in a large kennel cage. Seriously, he didn’t even know where to start with the dog jokes. He managed to get upright and to check out his surroundings. More kennels were stacked up against the walls and one, near the back, that had wolf or large dog in it. The wolf (dog) was dark brown and looked like he hadn’t been brushed in quite awhile. The matted fur all over his belly and back legs looked painful and he could see where some fur had been shaved on his front legs where he had some dried blood.

“Hey boy,” Stiles hoped it was a boy and that he wouldn’t hurt its feelings, “are you okay?” The dog (wolf) looked up at him, green eyes flecked with brown and yellow, a sad expression on its face. It whined pitifully. Stiles felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn’t handle this. He couldn’t see Gerard so he tried to figure out a way to escape. His wrists and ankles were duct taped. He knew he wasn’t flexible enough to chew at the tape between his ankles (and besides, gross) but he thought if he could get something sharp he could at least try to rip the tape on his wrists. The wolf (dog) stared at him, not making any more noises. It wasn’t tied up like Stiles was. He (maybe she, Stiles still couldn’t get a good look and he didn’t want to be a pervert so he left that mostly alone) sat up and just watched. Stiles looked around his cage (more dog jokes jumping unbidden to his mind) and found a piece of wire sticking out. He tried to catch the tape on it but the wire just bent. He groaned at his luck and tried to bend the wire with his fingers so it would catch more easily. The entire time he talked to the wolf/dog and asked questions of it half expecting an answer. After an excruciating 15 minutes, he managed to tear a small section of the tape. From there, he chewed through it (and he just knew he would never get the taste out of his mouth again. When he got the top section separated, he ripped one wrist out, howling (see? another dog joke) as his arm hairs were ripped out of his arm. He took care of the tape on his ankles and opened the latch on the cage. He figured Gerard didn’t think he’d be able to get out of the tape. He walked over to the cage with the wolf (it was definitely a wolf and woah! It turned to face him and it was definitely male) and squatted down. 

“Hey pup, you gonna bite me or can I let you out?” Stiles asked calmly. He put his hand near the cage, palm up for the wolf to sniff. He knew he should be more careful but he just couldn’t leave him in there. The wolf sniffed his palm and slowly licked him through the bars. Now that he was up close, he could see how scrawny the wolf was. His heart hurt just thinking about what this guy had been through. He stood up and told the wolf, “Okay, I’m going to open the cage. Please please don’t bite me, okay?”

He flicked the latch and out jumped the wolf. He rubbed up against Stiles’s leg and stuck his nose right into Stiles’s groin. Stiles squeaked a bit (something he’d later deny if asked) and started looking around for a weapon. He could see he was in a long room, the walls all bricked. There were bags of dog food stacked up against the far wall by the door. He walked over and poured some food out for the wolf who promptly lifted up his nose and wouldn’t touch it. “Yeah, it doesn’t look all that good, does it, boy?” Stiles needed to come up with a name for the wolf. He couldn’t keep calling it “pup” or “boy.”

He settled for Scott, thinking it was like a cute and cuddly Scott, not his douche bag key stealing supposed best friend Scott. Stiles heard someone coming. He looked around for a weapon and saw a small paint stick and a couple of paint rollers without the fuzzies on them. He grabbed one and stood by the door so he’d be behind it when it opened. The door opened and he heard something sniffing. 

“I can’t see you but I can smell you, Mr. Stilinski,” Gerard’s voice calmly echoed in the long room. “You’d be better off just coming out now to save yourself the pain of me finding you.” 

Stiles waited, saying nothing and trying to keep calm. Scott just hid behind him, not moving and quiet. Gerard walked in and Stiles swung the roller down onto his head as hard as he could. Gerard looked like someone had barely touched him from his reaction. Stiles lifted his arm back up for a repeat when Gerard grabbed him by the neck with one hand, his other pinning Stiles’s arm back against the wall. He leaned in close and Stiles watched his teeth elongate, panic rising in his chest. He couldn’t breathe. He had to do something, anything to get away. He was lifted off the ground, feet flailing. Scott started growling and whining at the same time. 

“Shut up you mutt. I’ll deal with you nextht,” Gerard lisped through his fangs. He looked back to Stiles just in time for Stiles to plant himself firmly against the wall and aim both knees at Gerard’s crotch. He dropped Stiles immediately. Stiles tried to run and Gerard somehow managed to grab his ankle causing Stiles to drop to the floor and his chin to split open. He kicked back at the werewolf’s face doing nothing more than irritating him. He was pulled back and Gerard started punching him, clearly holding back or each punch would have killed Stiles. Scott was whining and his tail was down between his legs. He looked like he couldn’t decide if he was going to run or try to get to Stiles but with the werewolf between him and the door, he never would have made it.

Gerard sliced Stiles’s arm open from inner elbow to wrist. The blood welled up immediately and made his arm slick. 

“Scott, run!” Stiles squeaked. 

Scott looked at him, directly into his eyes and suddenly he seemed to get bigger, hackles raised and a low growl emanated from his throat. Gerard laughed. He sounded crazy. Scott started to circle Gerard, the growl deepening. 

“Oh, you want to play, eh mutt? Okay, I’m game.” Gerard turned from Stiles after kicking him in the ribs. Stiles rolled over. Everything hurt. Gerard started shifting further and dropped onto all fours. He looked like a regular wolf. Huge, but still just a wolf, not like Peter’s (and what Stiles suspected Derek’s) Alpha form looked like. Stiles knew that werewolf Scott couldn’t do that. He hadn’t quite gotten up the courage to ask Derek about it. He knew Derek hated him and tolerated him only because he wanted Scott in his pack. He was still afraid of Peter, Mr. Returnfromthedeadhowconvenient Peter. Gerard was closing in on Scott and he jumped, saliva dripping from his fangs and trying to rip into Scott’s neck. Scott whimpered but dodged the larger wolf. Gerard crashed into the empty cages and shook his head before turning back around. 

He made to move forward again and Stiles stood up and yelled, “You want me, you old bastard! Forget him, I’ll kick your ass. You’re what, 90? C’mon, Palpatine!” 

Stiles put himself in front of Scott and tried to raise his arms to protect his face as Gerard leapt up in the air. 200 pounds of wolf slammed into him, knocking him back and Gerard had his left arm in his mouth, fangs in deep. 

 

 

Derek

A few hours after showing Allison the house, directing her to clean up and get some sleep while he ran errands, Derek jogged back to the warehouse where the confrontation the night before had happened. He didn’t want to bring his car because the black Camaro was too recognizable. He slipped into the break room with the trap door and dropped lightly into the sewer. Disgusting. The smells were just as terrible as he thought they’d be. His eyes adjusted quickly but he could see no trace of the blackened blood. What he could smell was bleach, heavily concentrated. He saw where the cement walk way had been cleaned and followed the smell of bleach. It led him to the same ladder Stiles had found earlier, only now the ladder was a lot cleaner and smelled strongly of bleach instead of the foul sulfuric smell of Gerard’s tainted blood. He listened and heard nothing so he quickly climbed up and moved the manhole cover. He was in a private parking lot, surrounded by a wooden fence. He saw a door a few feet away and when he tried it, it was locked. He forced the handle and walked into the dark building. He sniffed and smelled… Stiles? What the hell was Stiles doing here? He padded silently down the hallway, following the smell of Stiles. He couldn’t smell Gerard at all even though he knew he’d come this way. He could still smell the bleach that was used to clean up his blood. 

“You want me, you old bastard! Forget him, I’ll kick your ass. You’re what, 90? C’mon, Palpatine!” Derek heard Stiles yell and ran toward the voice. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw: Gerard as a giant wolf on top of Stiles who had put himself between Gerard and a smaller wolf. 

Derek grabbed Gerard by the ears and snapped his neck. He flung his corpse away and tried to get to Stiles. The small wolf, hackles still raised, jumped in front of Stiles and growled and snarled at Derek. 

“No, Scott,” whimpered Stiles, “That’s Derek. He’s one of the good… well, not so bad guys.” 

With that, Scott backed up, still growling low and nudged Stiles’s shoulder before licking his face.

Derek just stared at Scott. He knew he should be helping Stiles but Scott’s scent was just so familiar. Scott looked up at Derek and sniffed. He walked cautiously closer, still sniffing at Derek. He looked back to Stiles and then back to Derek. Stiles was watching intently, in pain, bleeding. 

“A little help here, Derek? You guys can sniff each other’s butts later, yeah?” Stiles blurted out. Oops, dog joke. Derek growled and Scott growled at Derek. 

“Okay, princess,” said Derek, lifting Stiles up effortlessly while Scott watched him warily. 

“C’mon, Scott,” said Stiles. “You can’t stay here. Put me down Derek, my legs are fine.”

“Maybe, but you’re still too slow. We’ve got to get you to Deaton’s. Your arm is bleeding pretty badly and I don’t have my car.”

“My Jeep’s a couple of blocks away, we can take that,” Stiles said and directed him to where he’d parked. 

Scott jumped into the back seat when they got to the Jeep. Derek drove quickly to the vet’s office. He parked and Stiles got out, almost slipping. Derek climbed out of the driver’s side and went over to help Stiles. He looked into the back seat and saw a naked boy sitting where Scott had been. Stiles looked up. 

“Derek, what are you doing? I’m bleeding here, dude,” Stiles complained.

Derek had tears in his eyes. He was staring at the boy. 

“Gabriel?” he asked?

Stiles looked back and saw that Scott was now human boy. Well werewolf boy. Well, something. He’d never seen a werewolf who could turn completely into a wolf and now this one and Gerard all on one day. He was so confused. 

Gabriel (Scott) looked up at Derek. He didn’t speak. He slowly nodded his head though. Derek took off his leather jacket and gave it to Stiles. He told Stiles to put it on Gabriel. He seemed almost afraid of the boy. Stiles looked at Derek like he was crazy but covered Gabriel up. The jacket was huge on him. The kid was so scrawny it make Stile’s heart hurt. Gabriel got out of the Jeep and went over to Stiles. He put his hand out. Stiles took it with his unhurt arm and made his way into Deaton’s office with a boy wearing only a leather jacket and Derek in tow.


	2. Homecoming

Allison

Allison stepped into the small bathroom in the basement that Derek had shown her on his quick tour of the burned down house. The bathroom was surprisingly clean considering the state of most of the home. The walls had been painted a light blue and a photo of a lighthouse hung over the toilet with a stained wooden frame. A small tub had a floral curtain with a plain white liner. She wondered who had taken the time to decorate. She looked into the mirror and saw how dirty her face was, the only clean areas where her tears tracked down to her chin. Using only the hand soap available to wipe away the dirt, Allison tried to think about how she was going to get some things from her home. Asking Derek would be impossible. The resulting confrontation from that would be inevitable and messy. Peter was out of the question as well. Allison finally decided to call Lydia to see if she'd be willing to drive over to the Argent home to get some clothing and basic necessities. She'd have to wait until Derek returned though. She'd forgotten her phone in her room as well. 

Allison walked up the stairs from the basement and went to the top floor to Derek's room. Derek's room was neat and had only what was necessary: bed (not made); a small dresser with a couple of books on top of it; and a nightstand with a lamp. She wouldn't have taken Derek as the type to settle down to read a novel before bed but he was turning out to be different than what she'd imagined. She needed a clean shirt since hers was pretty rank from sleeping in the forest the night before and since Derek had shown her his room and hadn't told her to stay out of it, she was relatively comfortable with digging around to find a shirt. She was in the second drawer of the bureau when she heard the sound of someone clearing his throat.

“Can I help you, dear,” asked Peter, his voice sickeningly sweet.

Allison tried not to act surprised and shrugged her shoulders in what she hoped appeared to be nonchalance. “Just trying to find a shirt that's not filthy. Every shirt in this drawer is going to hang to my knees, though.”

Peter walked around her to the closet and rooted through a box in the back. He tossed her a shirt that looked much smaller and let out a small laugh.

“Thanks, this'll work.” She turned around and removed her shirt before putting the new one on. As she pulled it over her shoulders she smelled sweat. “I'm not sure how clean this is but I'll get around to doing some laundry later. I don't mind doing your laundry and Derek's as long as you don't need it folded. I'm not quite that domestic.”

Peter rolled his eyes and told her he was fully capable of doing his own laundry and left her while he muttered about keeping her hands off of his underwear. 

She walked out of Derek's room and went down to the living room to sit on the husk of a burned out couch. She had a lot to think about and she wasn't sure when Derek was going to get back. She had some questions for him but since she was a guest in his home (she was still surprised he hadn't turned her away) she was going to be as patient as she could. 

Allison looked down at the shirt Peter had given her and groaned at the irony of wearing a shirt that had a bullseye on it. She figured she was enough of a target already.

 

Stiles, Gabriel, and Derek

Stiles walked into Deaton's clinic holding Gabriel's warm hand. He seemed to run just as hot as regular werewolves. Derek followed them into the practice a few steps back. He couldn't take his eyes off of Gabriel, like he thought he would disappear if looked away. Alan Deaton was sitting at his desk and looked up when the bell on the door sounded. 

“Mr. Stilinski, Derek, and, well, hello, young man,” he directed lastly to Gabriel. Gabriel warily eyed Derek and ducked behind Stiles. 

“He appears to be a bit shy, dude,” Stiles said to Dr. Deaton. “I'm sorry to show up like this, especially without Scott but if I show up at the hospital my dad will probably disown me for this.”

Stiles peeled back the sleeve of his plaid flannel button up where most of the blood had dried. The wound was still dripping slowly and Deaton's eyes opened a bit but that was the only reaction he showed. 

“Well, come on in and I'll see what I can do. We need to clean that up a bit and find out if you'll need stitches,” Deaton said. He opened up the small gate at the front of the office to allow Stiles and the two werewolf companions in. He directed them down the hall to a doorway and had Stiles sit on the flat table in the center of the room. Gabriel refused to let go of Stile's other hand so Dr. Deaton moved around him apparently not bothered at all by him being in the way. Derek lingered in the doorway, not sure what to do but not wanting to leave Gabriel.

“So, who is your friend, Mr. Stilinski, and what happened to you?” asked Dr. Deaton. 

“I guess it's Gabriel, Derek's brother. He hasn't said a word but he did nod when Derek asked him. Of course, I'd agree to anything Derek said, too. He's sort of a bully,” Stiles glared at Derek. “Little dude was a wolf when I found him. I mean like, total wolf. No Beta type hybrid thing or even a warped out freaky looking Alpha form. No offense, Fido.”

Derek didn't respond to Stiles's gibe and just continued to stare at Gabriel. 

Stiles told Dr. Deaton about how he'd gone to find out where Gerard had gone and then ended up a prisoner himself. He told him about the attack and how Derek had broken Gerard's neck. Dr. Deaton started to clean the bite on Stiles's arm, being as gentle as he could. Stiles hissed a couple of times in pain but didn't move his arm. After the dried blood was cleaned and the dirt scraped out of the wound, Dr. Deaton looked at Derek. “Would you mind licking this a bit. It will help prevent any infection before I stitch up the larger openings.”

Derek shifted into his Beta form and walked over to Stiles.

“What the hell?! Bad bad dog, get b-b-back,” Stiles stammered. 

Deaton looked at Stiles like he was an idiot. “This will help immensely, Stiles. Hasn't Scott told you about the healing properties of a werewolf’s saliva? It's like antibiotics without some potentially dangerous side effects, like allergies.”

“I must have missed that day of werewolf academy, Doc.,” answered Stiles. “Is this my punishment for that? I promise I won't miss another day if it means I won't have to get licked by Lassie.”

Deaton shook his head and moved back for Derek. Derek lifted Stiles's arm gently and began to lick the open cuts. The licking itself hurt a bit but it wasn't as bad as when Deaton had been cleaning the arm. After a minute, Derek backed away and shifted back. Deaton set up a small needle to put a local on before starting to stitch Stiles back up. 

“Derek,” Dr. Deaton said, “would you mind getting some clothing for Gabriel while I do this? I don't have anything for him here.”

Derek backed out of the doorway and disappeared down the hall without a word, presumably to find some clothing for Gabriel. How he was going to go shopping for clothing for the small boy was a mystery to Stiles who couldn't wait to ask him about it. 

“Stiles, we need to have a little chat,” Dr. Deaton said while he worked. “Have you given any thought to Gabriel's welfare? You know that he can not live with Derek in that house. Also, he seems to be quite taken with you. How much do you know about pack dynamics?”

Gabriel let go of Stiles's hand, shrugged out of Derek's jacket, and shifted back into a wolf. He then jumped up on the table with Stiles and rested his head on his leg. Stiles started to absentmindedly pet him while he talked with Deaton. 

“I don't know much about pack dynamics but I was thinking about how to take care of Gabriel on the way over here. If I can figure out a way to ask my dad how to take in an extra kid who has a monthly problem and seems to randomly shift into a wolf, well, it wouldn't be a problem. But also, what about basic things like paperwork for vaccinations, report cards, and whatever else you need to get into school? And how do you start a conversation about it? 'Hey dad, this is my new friend. I found him in a kennel in an abandoned building that was near a sewer grate I happened to climb out of and he followed me home. Can we keep him?' Not really going to happen.” Stiles groaned in frustration.

“Have you thought about telling the Sheriff the truth,” asked Dr. Deaton.

“I think about it every day. I also think about how it's going to put him into even more danger.” Stiles was frustrated and he hurt everywhere except the arm that Dr. Deaton had numbed. 

“Maybe not knowing could get him more hurt,” Deaton said quietly. “A situation may come up where knowing could be the difference between him living or dying.”

Stiles nodded, “I've thought of that, too. I've thought of a hundred scenarios of telling him and most end up with me either grounded for life or locked up in an asylum.”

“Take Scott with you. Your father's known him since he was small. He trusts Scott.” Deaton finished up with the stitches and put on a gauze bandage. 

“What will I do with Gabriel then? I don't feel good about leaving him alone,” Stiles said.

“I think it's wise to keep him with you. Look, before Derek gets back, I want to give you a couple of books to read. I know that he has not been very forthcoming on the werewolf facts...”

“If by not forthcoming you mean not at all,” interjected Stiles.

“...and I understand his reasons,” continued Dr. Deaton as if Stiles hadn't said anything at all. “These books have been handed down to me but I know you'll take good care of them. I will need them back when you're done. You may want to make copies of them and scan them so you can start your own sort of database.” 

Deaton left the room and Stiles heard him open something up down the hall. He returned with two very old books. One was called “Pack Dynamics” and the other looked like a journal. “We'll keep this between us, Stiles. Derek might react badly if he knew I was forwarding your education in this matter.” 

Stiles nodded and jumped off the table, Gabriel following him immediately. He walked out to the Jeep and put the books underneath the passenger’s seat. They both walked back into Deaton's waiting room to wait for Derek. Stiles thanked Deaton and Deaton excused himself to look after some of his other patients. Stiles picked up a magazine and flipped through it without really looking at anything. Gabriel stretched out on the floor in front of Stiles and laid his head on Stiles shoes and went to sleep. 

Twenty minutes later Derek opened the door with a few bags of clothing and a small bag of food from the sandwich shop down the street. He looked down at Gabriel and handed the bags to Stiles. 

“So I have to dress him, too? What the hell, Derek, he's your brother,” Stiles said harshly. 

Gabriel got up and shifted. “I can dress myself,” he said calmly as he took the bags of clothing from Stiles. He rooted through the bags, found some jeans and a shirt and put them on. Stiles handed him the sandwich and Gabriel ate that while Stiles just stared. 

“Dude, you can talk,” Stiles said, sort of rudely. “Why haven't you said anything?”

“I don't like talking in front of Derek. I know he's my brother but he doesn't smell good. He smells like anger and something else I don't understand. It's strong and overwhelming.” Gabriel continued to eat his sandwich, apparently finished with his word quota of the day. 'Definitely a Hale,' Stiles thought to himself. 

Deaton came out into the waiting room and asked Stiles to wait outside while he spoke with Derek. Stiles and Gabriel headed out to the Jeep to wait.

 

Derek

“What do you want,” Derek asked when Deaton hadn't said anything for a few minutes.

“Derek, you know that I had the capacity of an adviser for your family before you were born. It's not my place to advise you any more but there are things you need to know. You will need to find an adviser and while you have one available to you, he requires training. I will help where I can on that matter. I know that you missed a lot of traditions by losing your family. You had not completed your rites of passage and gained all of the knowledge that comes from that. You owe Stiles a life debt for finding your brother. You must meet the needs of that debt.” Deaton looked at Derek who motioned for him to continue. “Also, there is the matter of your brother. I'm not sure that Stiles found him accidentally. We don't know what Gerard's end game might be or why Gabriel was alone in that room with so many other empty cages. What we do know is that he needs a stable home and a pack where he can be safe and loved. I think you should talk with Stiles. He seems attached to Stiles so it might be in his best interests to stay with the Stilinski family. I told Stiles to be honest with his father since Gabriel seems wont to switch into his full wolf form without much prodding.” 

“I didn't even know that was possible,” Derek whispered. “I've never seen it or heard of it until today.”

“You could do that, with a little practice, Derek. I'm sure Gabriel would be willing to help you learn how,” Deaton said. “Either way, I think you need to go with Stiles to speak with his father. I originally told him to take Scott but I think you'd be the better choice. If it doesn't go well, you'll be in a better position to deal with it than Scott. The most important question I have is this: Do you trust Stiles?”

Derek hesitated a moment before answering. He was confused in regards to Stiles who seemed so frivolous and sarcastic one moment and then he's putting himself in front of a werewolf to protect Derek's brother. “I don't know if I trust Stiles or not,” Derek answered as truthfully as he could. “My wolf trusts him implicitly.”

“I thought as much,” said Deaton. “You need to pay attention to your wolf on this matter, Derek, or you're going to have a difficult time ahead of you. Go on, take care of what you need to do. I have things to do here.” Deaton left Derek standing in the waiting room. 

 

Scott

After Stiles left, Scott headed back upstairs to get a couple more hours of sleep. He set the alarm and when it went off, he got up to get ready for the day. He’d planned on meeting up with Isaac to get some Lacrosse practice in but he also wanted to talk to him about what had happened the night before. He needed to know where Isaac stood between himself and Derek. Scott called Isaac and they agreed to meet at the practice field. After showering and dressing, Scott headed downstairs to tell his mother he’d be gone.

“Scott, I wanted to ask you about Isaac,” Mrs. McCall said as she handed him a plate with some scrambled eggs and bacon. “Where’s he living since his father passed?”

“He’s been staying in Derek’s ‘lair/den’ thing he’s got going on in an abandoned subway car. Why, what’s up?” Scott replied. 

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that. He’s sixteen years old and living like he’s homeless. Would it be safe to let him stay here with his… furry condition?” Scott’s mom puttered around the kitchen and then poured herself another coffee while she waited for Scott to answer.

“Mom, I need to talk to him about it. I don’t know what’s going on with Derek and Isaac but when I find out, I’ll ask him if that’s what he wants. We can set up an extra bed for him in my room if that works,” Scott answered. “Anyhow, I was going to tell you that I’m meeting up with him in a bit for practice. I’ll let you know what he says when we’re done. Do you work tonight?”

“I’m going in this afternoon. I’m on a 24 hour shift so I won’t be back until tomorrow. You guys can stop by later at the hospital and let me know what you’ve decided.”

“Okay, Mom. I’ve got to run but I’ll catch up with you later,” Scott said.

Scott grabbed his phone and lacrosse supplies and headed out to get his bike out of the garage. He rode down the street and saw Stiles’s Jeep heading down the road with Derek driving it.

“What the hell!” Scott exclaimed under his breath. He turned around and followed the Jeep to Stiles’s house and dumped his bike on the lawn.

“What are you doing, Stiles?” He asked as Stiles stepped down out of the Jeep followed by Gabriel. “Who is that little kid and why are you guys with Derek?!”

“Stiles, I have a few things I need to take care of. When will the Sheriff be back?” Derek asked, ignoring Scott completely.

“He’s supposed to be back at 4:00 so if you could be here around 4:30? That would be great and give him a chance to meet Gabriel first.” Stiles walked past Scott with Gabriel in tow and indicated for Scott to follow him.

“Sure thing.” Derek walked around the back of the house and disappeared into the woods.

“What’s up, Scott? Allison isn’t here so you’ll have to look for her somewhere else.” Stiles stated, voice laced with sarcasm. 

“Really, Stiles? I see you coming back to your house with Derek driving your Jeep. Did you fall and hit your head? You hate Derek and you never let anyone drive your Jeep and the next morning he’s driving you home in it?” Scott practically yelled at Stiles.

“First off, dude, yes I’ve hit my head and had my head hit quite a few times since last night. If you cared about anything other than yourself, you’d know that. Second, Derek drove because my whole arm is numb, you potato.” Gabriel had somehow managed to sneak his hand into Stiles’s good hand and wasn’t planning to let go. Stiles made his way up the stairs with Gabriel behind him, arm at an awkward angle. Scott made his way up behind them, still trying to figure out what was going on and why Stiles seemed to be so angry with him. 

Gabriel let go of Stiles’s hand once they entered his room and made his way to Stiles’s bed where he promptly burrowed under the covers and went to sleep. Stiles stared at him, shook his head and went to sit down at his computer. He was tired but he knew that Gabriel probably felt even worse than he did. 

“Really, Scott, what can I do for you?” Stiles asked, trying to not sound grumpy with his best friend.

“I’m headed over to practice with Isaac and my mom asked me to talk to him about staying with us.” Scott paced around the room. He couldn’t seem to sit still. He could smell Stiles’s anger and frustration and he didn’t know what was causing it.

“Thank you for asking if I’m okay, Scott. Much appreciated. My head’s fine, and my arm, too, thank you for asking.” Stiles stood up and went rooting through his closet.

“What are you doing, Stiles?” Scott asked, feeling a slight panic rise in his throat. 

“I’m digging in my closet for a shirt to wear that says ‘Allison’ so maybe then you can pretend you give a crap about me!” Stiles yelled, giving up the shirt hunt (knowing that he had no such shirt in his house but hey, a guy can shoot for an Oscar, right?) and turning to face his friend. “I’ve been bitten by a giant werewolf, slammed into the floor and wall, and I’m bruised from head to toe and you’re worried about living arrangements with the werewolf cherub. Really, Scott? Really? I don’t have time for this. I’m about to tell my dad about werewolves today because I’ve got Derek Hale’s little brother barnacled to me and he can’t stay with Derek because hello, NO HOUSE, and he likes to be a wolf more than a little boy. So, guess what, I don’t care what you do with Isaac.” Stiles leaned up against the wall and slowly lowered himself down, knees up in front of him, with his hands flat on the floor.

“I’m sorry, Stiles, I didn’t know,” Scott stared at the floor as he spoke.

“I know you didn’t. You didn’t ask. I’m under a lot pressure here, Scott. I can’t do everything for everyone. You’re my best friend but I feel like I need an appointment to even see you and half the time you cancel or forget about me. I’m having enough problems as it is without being blown off by you.” 

“Let’s talk about it, Stiles. I told Isaac I’d meet him and my mom knows I’m going to talk to him but I can come by after?” Scott asked, hesitating. He knew the right thing to do would be to call Isaac and tell him that plans had changed but he wasn’t sure if Stiles wanted to be around him right now.

Stiles looked up at Scott, incredulously. “You know what, that’s great, you mutated Labrador. Why don’t you go hang out with Allison 2.0 and flake on me again. I’ll just be here, recuperating from all the mess you dragged me into, and waiting with every fiber of my being for the phone to ring so you can cancel. It’s all good. I’ve got a 12 year old here who can keep me company. We can play Legos, play astronaut, and talk about what we want to be when we grow up. I want to be a werewolf punching bag, in case you’re curious,” Stiles snarked.

Gabriel growled a little at Stiles with that comment and then rolled over to go back to sleep.

“Stiles, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do.” 

“Go downstairs and make a couple of sandwiches and get a couple of glasses of milk. Then you can run off into the sunset with your new date,” Stiles said.

Scott hunched his shoulders and went downstairs to put the food together. He balanced the sandwiches and glasses of milk and went back up to give them to Stiles. Stiles had fallen asleep on the floor and Scott nudged him with his foot to wake him up. Stiles got up slowly and took the plates and glasses from Scott. “Gabriel,” he said softly, “wake up, you need to eat and then you can go back to sleep.

Gabriel shot up and grabbed the plate from Stiles and shoved almost half the sandwich into his mouth. He then reached for the milk and gulped it down. After decimating the sandwich and making a general mess of crumbs on Stiles’s bed, Gabriel put his head back onto the pillow and tried to go back to sleep. Stiles decided it was Derek’s job to clean up after his baby brother. Yeah, right, like he could make the Alpha werewolf clean up bread crumbs. Stiles sighed and looked back at Scott.

“So, don’t you have to go meet Isaac?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to meet him but I’ll stop by here on my way home, okay? Just don’t hate me, Stiles.” 

“I don’t hate you and you scored some points by not talking about Allison so do what you have to do and see me later, okay?” conceded Stiles.

Stiles walked Scott down to the door and they fist bumped before Scott left. Stiles remembered the books Deaton had given him and he walked out to the Jeep to get them. He figured he had a couple of hours to skim through them before his dad came home from work. 

 

Derek and Allison

After leaving Stiles’s house, Derek ran through the woods to get home. He needed to check on Allison and make sure Peter hadn’t killed her or that she hadn’t killed Peter. He was starting to wonder if he was an Alpha werewolf or just running a home for wayward crazies. 

He came up to the rear of the house and walked up the remains of the stairs that led into the kitchen. He could smell Allison and the faint scent of Stiles which was odd since he just left Stiles’s home not 20 minutes earlier. As he walked into the living room he saw Allison. She stood up from the couch where it looked like she’d dozed off and Derek’s eyes immediately went to the t-shirt she was wearing. Allison saw his eyes look down and said, “Derek, I hope you don’t mind. My shirt was ruined and I was in your room looking for something else to wear and Peter found this in your closet. I figured it was just some old shirt you had that didn’t fit you. It’s not a problem, is it?”

“No, it’s not.” Derek was trying not to blush but he could feel the heat in his cheeks.

“Oh, well, you sort of look angry so I can put my old one on,” she said.

“No, it’s fine. I just ran here so I’m a bit flushed. Don’t worry about it,” Derek responded.

Peter chose that time to poke his head out from the hallway. “I found it packed in one of your boxes, nephew. I thought it would fit her since she’s just a bit smaller than…” 

“I said it’s fine!” Derek roared, cutting off Peter’s words before he said something that would cause Derek to attack him. 

Allison looked at Peter and then back to Derek and decided there was something going on but not something she was willing to risk asking about at the moment. She filed it away to remember to ask later when Derek was a bit calmer. “Derek, can I borrow your phone one more time? I need to call Lydia to see if she would be able to grab some clothes from my house.”

Derek took his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to the Hunter. Allison walked out to the front porch to make her phone call.

 

Derek had liberated the shirt from Stiles’s hamper the night he met him. The day Scott and Stiles had been on his property looking for his sister’s body was the day he smelled Stiles for the first time properly. He’d caught traces of it in the woods the night before but didn’t know to whom it belonged. Derek was greatly surprised that the smell had come from a man, well a boy, really. His parents had talked to him about mates and how even though the smell couldn’t be described as it was different for everyone, it would be completely unique and would leave no question as to what it was. That is what Derek smelled when he smelled Stiles. His wolf leaped and surged, wanting to get close to his mate, to mark him, to claim him. Derek knew he couldn’t allow that. He wasn’t sure why his wolf had chosen a male. Derek wasn’t gay, at least not that he knew of but that wasn’t as much of an issue for him as the age difference was. Stiles looked like he was still going through puberty and last time Derek checked, he wasn’t a pedophile. So to make his wolf content, he’d stolen something with Stiles’s scent on it and if he slept with his arms wrapped around it every night? So what? That hurt no one. Now that Allison’s scent would be wrapped up in the shirt, he’d have to take another one. Stiles always left his window open so that wouldn’t be a problem. 

Derek went back to talk to Peter. “How long have you known,” he asked, a small growl escaping.

“Oh, I watched you climb into his room and steal that shirt. Very obvious, really. Why else would you take a shirt instead of just taking the boy? Some twisted sense of honor, nephew?” Peter responded. 

“You will not bring it up again. I will not play your games and you will behave or I will finish what I started when I killed you the first time,” Derek threatened.

“Calm down, O Alpha of mine. I have no interest in interfering with your non-existent love life. In fact, I’ll do what I can to help you. A mated Alpha is a happy Alpha, you know.” Peter grinned at Derek.

Derek glared at Peter. “What you’ll do, O Beta of mine,” he said sarcastically, “is stay the hell out of it. I’ll figure out what to do since the son of the Sheriff is only sixteen. My stupid wolf clearly has no respect for that.”

Peter looked at him strangely. “You really don’t understand, do you? Your wolf will determine your mate only when they’re ready to breed. It’s pretty rare for a same sex pairing but Stiles is definitely producing the mating goods or your wolf wouldn’t have chosen him.”

Derek blanched. “I don’t want to talk about this any more. Stay out of it.” Derek decided that for now, a stolen shirt and repression were the best modes of dealing with it and went out to check on Allison.

Allison looked up when he stepped onto the porch and handed his phone back. “Thanks, Derek. I called my dad and Lydia and he’s agreed to let her pick up some things for me. Thank you again for letting me stay here.” He grunted at her and sat down.

“Will your father come here to try to pick you back up? I don’t want a confrontation here.” 

“No, I made it very clear that I need some space and while he doesn’t agree with my choice to stay with you, he’s not going to go against it right now. We agreed to speak again in a month to see how things are going.” Allison leaned up against Derek where he’d sat next to her on the steps of the porch. “Thank you for understanding and helping me, Derek,” she whispered. Derek nodded gruffly and stood up.

“I have to go to Stiles’s house. He’s going to tell the Sheriff the truth and I agreed to be there when he does. Do you want to come with me? It might help to have another person there.”

“You bet,” Allison agreed. They both got into Derek’s Camaro and he took off toward the Stilinski house.

 

*****

 

The Sheriff pulled up in front of the house and saw Stiles’s Jeep in the driveway. He was a little surprised to see Stiles was home on a Sunday afternoon, figuring he’d be out with Scott but lately Scott hadn’t been around as much. The Sheriff walked up to the house and went to open the door and suddenly he heard barking, loud and mean coming from his house. He hesitated with his hand on the door knob and heard, “Stop it, stop barking, Gabriel. Get away from the door!” and Stiles pulled the door open, holding what looked to be a wolf by the scruff of his neck. “Dad, father of mine, c’mon in!” Stiles said, forced cheer evident with the stress of his smile. “Ignore the dog,” a small growl came from the wolf at that, “domestic wolf, I mean, and take your shoes off. Relax. I’m sure you had a long stressful day at work passing out speeding tickets. Can I get you a beer, whiskey, anything? We need to talk,” he snuck in quietly.

The Sheriff knew it was going to be bad by how Stiles was acting. They were not going to keep a wolf in the house, domesticated or not but this was bad. He knew this was going to be about a lot more than the wolf. 

“I’m going to go upstairs and change, Stiles. You’re going to find a leash and collar for that animal and put him in the back yard.”

“Well, dad, that’s sort of what we need to talk about and he’ll need to be here when we talk. Can you be just a little patient? One more person is coming over for this as well. I’m going to give you the answers you’ve been wanting from me and the thing is, these are not my secrets to share. Can you please wait and keep an open mind?” Stiles pleaded.

Andy Stilinski shook his head. “Stiles, I can’t handle any more lies. I’d rather you just didn’t say anything than to lie to me. The dog goes outside after we talk if he just has to be here for this.” Andy headed up the stairs to change.

Stiles called after him, “ Dad, Derek Hale is the one coming over. He should be here in a couple of minutes. Don’t freak, okay?”

The vein in Andy’s forehead throbbed. “This had better be good, Stiles,” he yelled down the stairs.

‘Oh, it will be,’ though Stiles to himself as he walked out onto the porch, Gabriel following close behind, to wait for Derek.

 

Scott and Isaac

Scott and Isaac finished practicing, not really talking much, just swinging their lacrosse poles and catching and practicing blocking. They sat down on the bleachers and Scott started asking some questions about Derek and how things were going with the pack.

“Well,” Isaac said, “the pack is pretty much dissolved. We have creepy Peter, mean Derek, and I’m not sure I want to be part of that. 

“That’s sort of what I want to talk to you about. My mom asked where you were living and if you’d want to stay with us. Our place isn’t huge but we can fit you in there and I could use a study buddy. I just don’t want conflicts with Derek,” Scott admitted. 

“I thought Stiles was your ‘study buddy,’ said Isaac emphasizing with air quotes when he said “study buddy.” I don’t want to get in the way of that. He seems like he’s been pretty depressed lately and even though he sort of bugs me, he’s your friend and he’s stuck by you through all the wolf stuff.”

“Stiles isn’t depressed. He’s just mad because I was spending time with Allison. He’ll get over it, he always does. Besides, Allison won’t even call me back so I’m sure I’ll go back to being with Stiles all the time,” Scott said, even though he wasn’t sure after his talk with Stiles earlier in the day. “That reminds me, I told him I’d go to his house after I hung out with you but we need to see my mom if you’re planning on moving in with us?”

“I’d really like that, if it’s not going to be a bother. I’ll have to tell Derek, of course, but it’s not like he’s going to tell me no. He’s not my Alpha any more, you are,” Isaac said simply, as if it weren’t a big deal. 

Scott’s chest puffed up with pride and he said, “That’s right, my little Beta. Let’s head over to the hospital to tell my mom.”

 

Derek pulled up to the Stilinski household with Allison in the passenger seat of the Camaro. Stiles stared from the porch. “What’s she doing here,” he practically spit out. “Are you going to take away my quality Derek time, too?”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “What quality time is that, Stiles? Where you’re bleeding all over the place or where I have to save you from rabid wolves?”

“Not funny, dude. Seriously, what’s up with her and why is she with you?”

“She’s right here, Stiles,” said Allison, referring to herself.

“Derek,” Stiles whined.

“She’s here with me, deal with it, “Derek said.

Stiles looked over to Allison, realizing that she had on his bullseye shirt. “Wait, did you steal that shirt from Scott?”

“What are you talking about?” she asked. My shirt was dirty and Peter…”

“…Came up with it from somewhere. Is this really important?” asked Derek?

Allison looked at Derek who was beet red. She looked away quickly, not sure exactly what was happening. Stiles looked at the shirt, back to Derek, and back to the shirt again.

“Everything I have gets ultimately stolen by her,” he muttered and waved them into the house. He followed them in with Gabriel right behind him. “Don’t put your nose up my butt, dog,” he said with no venom behind the words. Gabriel just yawned and walked into the house.

Andy was downstairs sitting on the couch when Derek, Allison, Stiles and Gabriel walked through the door, Stiles having paused before entering.

“Well, dad, the party’s been crashed by Allison but show will go on!” Stiles said, a bit theatrically and slightly high pitched. Allison rolled her eyes. “Everyone have a seat,” Stiles motioned to the couch, “and Derek, sit somewhere out of my dad’s reach, okay?”

“Way to make me feel comfortable with all of this, Stiles,” said his father.

“Ah, okay, well, that sounded better in my head, you know?” Stiles said. “So, we are gathered here today… Wait, no, uh, dad? I’m not sure how to start this.”

“I’m a werewolf. The wolf following your son around is my little brother who I thought had burned up with the rest of my family. Allison comes from a family of werewolf hunters but she’s having a conflict about it so she’s staying with me for now. Isaac Lahey, Vernon Boyd, and Erica Reyes are also werewolves and until recently were in my pack. I don’t know where Boyd and Erica are but Isaac has been with Scott recently and I’m pretty sure he’ll be joining his pack. Stiles is human and part of Scott’s pack. If you have any questions, now’s the time, Sheriff,” Derek said quickly, with direct eye contact to the Sheriff.

Stiles’s mouth was hanging open and he was floundering with his arms. He looked back and forth between Derek and his father, noticing that Allison was nodding her head in agreement with Derek.

“Stiles,” said Andy, “get me a beer, now.”

“Yes, sir,” said Stiles as he hurried into the kitchen with Gabriel trotting behind him. “Jesus, Derek,” Stiles said under his breath, knowing full well the werewolf could easily hear him in the living room. 

Stiles came back with a beer for his father and sat on the recliner. Gabriel jumped up on his lap causing Stiles to sigh and just put his hands out to pet Gabriel’s flank. 

No one had said a word while Stiles was in the kitchen.

“Well, that went well. We all good here, dad?” Stiles said, knowing that this was just the start.

Andy ignored Stiles and looked at Derek while he opened up the beer. “If you’re lying to me, I will arrest you and make sure you’re in jail for a very long time, Hale. If I’ve understood you, your brother is sitting on my son’s lap and you get furrier on the full moon. Stop me when I’m wrong.”

“You’re doing alright so far, sir,” Derek acknowledged. 

“And I’m sure you have no proof and I’m just going to have to go on your word?” Andy asked.

“I don’t need to wait for the full moon and neither does Gabriel. He just seems to prefer being a wolf most of the time,” said Derek, unsure of Gabriel’s motivations to remain shifted for so long.

“I’m going to run upstairs to get your clothes and then you’ll need to shift for me, okay, Gabriel?” Stiles gently pushed Gabriel off of his lap and just glared back when Gabriel glared at him. “C’mon then. Derek, don’t shift until I get back and check my dad for guns.”

Stiles ran upstairs with Gabriel at his ankles and game back down the stairs with some pants and a shirt. “Okay, Derek first,” Stiles said and positioned himself between Derek and his father. Derek stood up and shifted to his Beta form in front of Andy. Andy stared at him but did not fidget. 

“Okay, down boy,” Stiles said, and Derek shifted back and sat back onto the couch. Andy took another drink of his beer.

“Gabriel, your turn, okay?” Stiles said. He stood in front of Gabriel and faced his father. Gabriel tapped him on the shoulder and he handed his clothes back to him. Allison stared, not knowing that werewolves could fully shift into a wolf. 

“Why haven’t I seen Scott do that?” she asked.

“I didn’t know it was possible until yesterday,” said Derek.

“Okay, so, this is real and explains a lot about what’s going on around here,” stated the Sheriff quietly. “I think I can understand why you’ve been lying this entire time, Stiles. I don’t agree with it, but I can see how these really aren’t your secrets. What I don’t understand is why are you telling me this now?”

“Dad, remember how you said I can’t keep a dog? How about a werewolf?” Stiles flinched as he said it and Andy’s eyes bulged. 

“What in your right mind makes you think that’s acceptable?” his father responded.

“Well, hehasnohomeandcan’tstayintheburnedouthomewithDerek soooo I thought he could stay with us and use the guest room?” Stiles said as quickly as possible hoping his father would agree just so he wouldn’t have to hear it again.

“Stiles, I’m not sure that’s exactly legal and frankly, shouldn’t he stay with his family? Derek is over 18 and while I’m not sure about his parenting skills, no offense, Derek, Gabriel is his brother. I don’t know why you’re involved with this.” Andy took another sip of his beer. 

“Dad, I’ve thought about this a little. Gabriel was declared dead but clearly he’s not. We’ll have to come up with a cover story since ‘kidnapped by crazy people and kept locked up for 6 years’ probably won’t go over as well as maybe suggesting that he was in a cult maybe? Also, we’ll need to get him into school and all that and he’d need a permanent address, right? Please?” Stiles was practically begging at this point.

“Stiles, I need to think about this. He can stay until I decide. “

“Dad, would it help to know that he’s been living in a kennel locked up for who knows how long?” Stiles asked.

“Yes, that would help, Stiles. Derek, are you really staying at the Hale home?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve started renovating a bit and I’ve hired a firm to come up with some plans to restore and recreate the house as it was before the fire,” Derek answered.

“Do you need a place to stay as well, Derek? Somewhere that you can stay with your brother until this work is done?” the Sheriff asked.

“I have one room ready but not enough room for both of us and it’s not safe for him to be there right now,” Derek said, not wanting to admit that he knew his brother didn’t want to be around him. He felt nauseous knowing that but he didn’t know how to fix it. “Sir, you seem very calm for having just learned that werewolves are real. Your heartbeat didn’t even pick up when I shifted.”

“I didn’t just learn that werewolves are real, Derek. I’ve known that for a long time. I just learned, however, that my son actually is capable of telling the truth which I thought was less believable than the supernatural.” 

“Dad, really!” Stiles said. “I told you it wasn’t my secret to keep.”

“I know that, and I’m proud of you for lying to me for the last few months, really, Stiles,” Andy said sarcastically. “I do understand your reasons, I really do. I don’t have to like it. Are we done with the secrets? Are you really gay, like you said when we found your friend at Jungle? Anything else you want to divulge while we’re doing this?

“Sarcasm is mine, dad. You stick with what you know and I’ll keep to what I know,” replied Stiles.

“Sheriff, Stiles only did what he did to protect us,” said Derek. “Without his help, you’d have had a much higher body count and the killer would still be out there. Stiles was flabbergasted. Did Derek just compliment him? No, he must have heard it wrong. Derek was a big meany. He didn’t compliment any one. Just grunted and threw people against walls. And snapped their necks when they tried to hurt him… 

“What I’m saying is this, Sheriff: I will do what I can to keep Stiles safe. There’s not much that can get through me. Stiles, you will be honest with your father. There are no more secrets you need to keep. Now, I think we’re done here. Allison, are you ready? Stiles needs to talk with his father.”

Allison and Derek stood up. Andy stood up and held out his hand to Derek. Derek looked surprised but shook it. 

“If something happens to these kids, any of them, I’ll hold you personally responsible, Derek. Your brother will stay with us and you’re welcome to as well, if you need a place. I expect you by often to visit with him. He’s been without family for far too long but he’s welcome with ours.” Andy walked with Derek to the door. 

Derek was stunned by the Sheriff’s statement. “Understood, sir,” was all he could say before he walked out the door.

Derek and Allison got into the Camaro and drove away. Andy walked back into the house. Stiles had moved to the sofa and Gabriel had shifted back into a wolf and was resting his head on Stiles’s thigh.

“Okay, dad, remember when you found me in the woods when you were looking for the second half of the body?” Stiles started.

He ended up talking for almost 4 hours while the Sheriff mostly listened but occasionally asked for more clarification. Stiles felt lighter and lighter as he poured out the details he’d been hiding from his father for so long. 

 

*****

 

“Derek, do you want to talk about Stiles’s shirt I’m wearing?” Allison asked with a small grin. 

Derek looked over at her. “Do you want me to eviscerate you, Allison?” he growled out, eyes glowing red.

“Calm down, big guy. I’m just ribbing you any way,” she answered playfully as they pulled up in front of the Hale home. 

 

True to her word, Lydia had picked up Allison’s clothes and a lot of other items she needed from her room. She’d also left quite a few bags of new clothes and a flat screen television still in the box on the porch. 

 

*****

 

“Peter Hale, my, the rumors of your death were greatly exaggerated, weren’t they?”

“Ah, Deucalion, I’m sure you thought you’d snuck up on me but I smelled your fear over 15 minutes ago. You exude a particular brand of cowardice that is unique to you,” Peter responded.

“We need to talk about Derek,” he said, instead of rising to the bait. 

“Yes, we do,” said Peter, “yes, we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this is not Beta'd. Thank you for reading this and I'll try to get the next chapter out a bit more quickly. I may need to change the rating on the next chapter so be warned. This is going to get darker before it gets lighter.


	3. In Which Very Little Is Clear To Stiles

Scott  
   
Scott woke up early Monday morning to the alarm he’d set on his phone.  He picked it up and checked for messages.  Nothing there.  No calls or texts from Allison.  She told him that she needed time but Scott was getting impatient.  He knew they belonged together.  He just couldn’t figure out why she didn’t know it yet.  He climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom to get ready for school.  His mom was still at work so he knew it was going to be a cereal type morning.  He ate and rode his bike to school.  When he arrived he saw Stiles’s Jeep in the parking lot and suddenly remembered that he was supposed to stop by last night to talk with him about everything.  ‘Crap,’ he thought, ‘now I’m going to have to really make this up to him.’  
   
Scott locked up his bike and hurried to his locker where Isaac was waiting for him.  
   
“Hey, man, what’s up?” Scott asked.  
   
“Nothing too much.  I started packing last night and I’ll start bringing some stuff over to the house later if that’s okay.” Isaac answered.  
   
“Sure, that works.  Have you seen Stiles this morning?”   
   
Isaac tilted his head a bit to the side.  “Yeah, he was here but I only saw him for a minute.  Forget about Stiles for now.”  Isaac’s voice dropped to a whisper.  “There are three new weres here at school.  They were checking in with the new principal this morning.  Two of them look like twins and I’m guessing the other one is their sister.  Do you think this has anything to do with the Alpha mark that was left on Derek’s door?”  
   
“I don’t know but I feel like I’m a supernatural soap opera.  My girlfriend left me, my best friend probably hates me, and I have my own mortal enemy with Derek.  How is this my life?” Scott whined.  
   
“Suck it up, McCall.  Should we tell Derek or what?” Isaac asked.  
   
“Are you kidding me?  Just so he can try to boss us around?  We’ll figure this out.  Let’s get to class.”  Scott headed to homeroom with Isaac behind him.  
   
   
Lunch finally arrived and Scott grabbed some food and went to the usual table he shared with Stiles and Allison only they weren’t there.  A huge teen sat down on each side of Scott’s bench.  “Hello,” said the one on the left, “I’m Aiden,” and the one on the right followed with, “Ethan here.”    
   
“Uhh,” Scott stammered, “Scott McCall.  Do I know you guys?”  
   
“No, or we wouldn’t have introduced ourselves.  No worries, you can be pretty and I’ll be smart,” said Aiden.  Ethan snickered quietly.    
   
“Not that this hasn’t been fun and really, I do enjoy a good insult, but I’ve already hired someone to verbally assault me and he is much more talented than you lot.  In fact,” Scott scanned the lunchroom, “I should go find him since he hasn’t shown up yet for lunch and my self-esteem is surprisingly intact for today.  Great talking to you guys.  We’ll have to do this again.”

Scott stood up and each of the teens put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.  “Oh, I don’t know.  I feel like we have so much more to talk about, Scotty,” said Aiden, apparently not interested in Scott’s attempt to walk away.  “And if you’re waiting for Stiles, he’s busy trying to impress your girlfriend on the front steps of the school.  Or, ex-girlfriend, whatever.  You don’t need either one of them.  What you need, my friend, is us.”  
   
Scott growled.  “What are you doing?  I need to go talk to Stiles.  And why is he talking with Allison?”  
   
“Now, now,” said Aiden, “You’ll need to control yourself a bit, pup.  No need to alert everyone here to your hairy palm affliction, if you get what I mean.”  He winked at Scott, eyes flashing briefly.  “C’mon, let’s head out to the field and chat about this like grown wolves.”  
   
Ethan rose first from his seat while Aiden guided Scott to follow him.  They headed out in silence to the lacrosse field.    
   
“Seriously, dudes, what do you want with me?  I really don’t want any part of this werewolf thing.  I don’t want to be your beta.  You should go talk to Derek,” Scott said tersely.  
   
“Scott, you don’t need to be afraid of us.  We want to help you.  We always want to help Alphas.  You need to lose some of the baggage.  Dump the humans.  They’re only going to slow you down.  Besides, you said yourself all Stiles does is insult you.”  Aiden was close to Scott, but not enough to appear threatening.  
   
“Stiles?  I didn’t tell you his name.  Why do you know that?” Scott asked.  
   
“Really, Scott?  You think we’d just randomly come to Beacon Hills to extend an invitation to our pack without knowing anything about you?  We’ve been watching you for a long while now.  We know that Stiles doesn’t appreciate you.  We know that your girlfriend doesn’t really seem interested in you and you shouldn’t be dating outside of your species anyway.  It weakens us all.”  Aiden, took a breath and continued.  “Scott, we know that Isaac is with you and he’s welcome to our pack as well.  We can always use another Beta, especially one as quick as he is.”  
   
“Well, Stiles doesn’t really seem to want to be around me much these days.  I don’t have to hurt anyone, do I?  I’m not a killer.  And I don’t want to be bullied by you guys.  I won’t stay for that,” said Scott.  
   
“We want you to be part of our team, not an Omega, Scott.  We’re looking for leaders to help strengthen our pack,” Aiden said.  
   
Ethan was behind Scott, covering his mouth with his hand to hide the grin that was creeping onto his face.    
   
“What do you say, Scott?  We’ll show you around, introduce you to the pack and you can make a decision.  We have a bit of a ranking system but we’re all Alphas with our own Betas.  You’ll be responsible for you Betas but we want you with us, not against us,” Aiden finished.  
   
“I don’t know,” Scott hesitated, “I need to think about it.  This sounds like it would be a big commitment.”

“It is but you’ll be committing to your new family,” Aiden said.  “And before you ask, your mother will be safe.  She’ll be considered pack in every way.”  
   
“I thought you didn’t like humans,” Scott said.  
   
“We don’t, but we’ll talk more about that later.  We’ve got to get to class, keep up appearances, right?”  Aiden and Ethan led Scott back to their lockers to get their books for the first class after lunch.  “We’ll see you after school, Scott.”  
   
   
Scott went to his locker, grabbed his notebook and hurried to his class.  He had Spanish with Stiles and he really needed to talk with him.    
   
When he arrived at class, Stiles was not there.    
    
   
   
   
Stiles  
   
Stiles woke up before his alarm clock feeling sore but rested.  He had told his dad everything the night before and he felt like he could finally get out from the lies that had been holding him captive for the past few months.  After they’d talked, the Sheriff had hugged him and told him he’d loved him.  He then said he’d lock him in a cell if he ever lied to him again, especially when his life was in danger.  They went upstairs with Gabriel to the spare room to get him set up.  The Sheriff decided that they’d wait a couple of days for Gabriel to get used to the house and then try to figure out how to get him enrolled in school.    
   
Stiles’s feet felt warm and when he sat up he saw that Gabriel had shifted and was sound asleep on his legs.  “Gabriel, get up, I have to get ready for school,” Stiles said, voice scratchy with sleep.  He knew he was already getting used to this and that it was not likely to change any time soon.  He’d spent a few hours before bed reading parts of the books that Deaton had given him and he learned more about packs, bonding, and mating than anything his Google skills had been able to pull up before.  He also knew that the information was legit, considering the source.    
   
He’d made it a goal to speak with Allison the best friend thief during lunch.  He had a lot of questions about mates after the chapter he read about last night.  According to the book, a werewolf can become mated with a human.  As part of the bond, the human will develop a sort of awareness of when pack was nearby, a general sense of their emotions, and will feel a need to be in close proximity to their mate.  It was even possible to become physically ill if separated from their mate for too long when they’d been together a long enough time.  For a werewolf, the senses were a hundred fold.  They always had a sense of pack and emotions but they become hyper aware of their mate.  The pairings were for life.  If Allison was really Scott’s mate, how had they broken up so easily?  Stiles wanted to know.  Usually the pair would be separated only by the death of one or the other.    
   
The other chapter that had interested him was about pack and human roles in the pack.  Most packs had humans to keep the werewolves grounded and from going feral.  Well established packs had many humans, in fact, and while not all were mated with werewolves, the majority ended up paired off.  Stiles wasn’t necessarily looking for a life bond but the idea of belonging to something was appealing to him.  He was lonely and with Scott spending less and less time with him, he had felt himself slipping into a depression; however, since finding Gabriel, he felt a responsibility to the young werewolf.  Gabriel seemed to want to be around Stiles unconditionally.  He didn’t make excuses to leave and in fact, was with Stiles constantly.  He’d had to gently close the door on the werewolf when he needed to use the restroom.  Strangely, Stiles didn’t feel like his personal space was being taken from him when Gabriel napped on him or sat draped all over him like he did last night while Stiles was reading.    
   
Gabriel shifted a bit and Stiles rolled out of bed.  He got dressed for school and ran downstairs to eat breakfast.  Gabriel met him in the dining room and apparently had found his jeans because he was sitting at the table eating the cereal the Sheriff had poured for him.    
   
“Good morning, Stiles,” said his father, leaning against the counter with a mug of coffee.  “I’m off today so I’m going to take Gabriel to get some things.”  
   
Stiles looked at Gabriel.  “Are you going to be okay then while I’m at school?”  
   
Gabriel looked at his father, then back to Stiles and answered, “I’ll be with my pack.  I’ll be okay.”  He then went back to his cereal like the conversation had ceased to be interesting to him.  Stiles was again reminded that Gabriel was definitely a Hale.  
   
Stiles sat down and poured himself a bowl of cereal.  He ate as fast as he could then dumped the dishes in the sink.  “Okay, guys.  Text me if anything crazy…  Well, crazier than normal anyhow,” he continued, “happens while I’m at school.”  
   
He made his way to the door and found Gabriel holding onto his belt loop.  “What’s up, little guy?”  
   
Gabriel cocked his head to the side and gave him a strange look.  “Little guy, really?”  He sighed largely and wrapped his arms around Stiles and nuzzled into his neck.  He then released Stiles and headed back into the kitchen.  Stiles made a mental note to finish the chapter he’d read on scenting and touch when he got home from school.  He raced out to his Jeep and drove to school.    
   
Stiles spent the day avoiding Scott, knowing where he usually waited for Stiles between classes.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid him in Spanish or Chemistry but that would be after lunch so he’d have a chance to talk to Allison before then.  He had forgotten that Scott was supposed to meet him last night until this morning.  He’d been so wrapped up with talking to his father it had completely slipped his mind.  By the time he got to school though, he was seething.  This wouldn’t be the first time that Scott had blown him off but after they’d talked, Scott had seemed genuinely sorry that he’d been neglecting their friendship.  
   
Stiles texted Allison in English and asked if she’d have some time at lunch to talk.  She agreed, as long as Stiles wasn’t involved in some sort of plan to get her and Scott back together.  Stiles assured her it wasn’t, although he had a lot of questions about her relationship with Scott, purely from a scientific perspective, of course.    
   
Allison met Stiles on the front steps of the school.  They sat awkwardly for a minute and idly ate their lunches.  Stiles didn’t know how to start the conversation without sounding like a creeper so he just blurted out, “Is Scott your mate?”  
   
“What the hell, Stiles?  I thought you weren’t going to try to put us back together,” Allison said.    
   
“No, that’s not what I mean.”  Stiles answered quickly.  “I got some books from…  Allison, you can’t tell Derek this, okay?”  
   
“Uh, Stiles, don’t put me in a bad spot with Derek, okay?  He’s letting me stay there and I don’t want to be on his bad side.  Well, any worse than I already am, okay?” Allison said.  
   
“Well, I got some books from Deaton and I was reading about mating stuff,” Stiles said.  
   
“God, Stiles, you are really weird sometimes,” Allison interjected.  
   
“I’ll bet you get into all the AP classes with your keen brain, Allison,” Stiles quipped.  “As I was saying, I was reading about mating and it says you form a sort of mystic bond with your mate.  Did you feel anything like that with Scott?  You’d be able to tell where he was and what emotions he was feeling and stuff like that.”    
   
“Not really.  I mean he was always all over me but that could be werewolf or teenage boy, I think.”  Allison answered.  “I don’t feel like there was anything beyond that.  I’m pretty sure he loved, well, loves me, but I don’t think I feel the same way any more.  Scott lied to me, constantly.  Don’t you think if he was my mate like your book says he wouldn’t have lied to me all the time?”  
   
Stiles thought for a minute.  “Well, if he thought he was trying to protect you, maybe.  But did you feel anything when you broke up?  Nausea, flu, anything?”  
   
Allison said, “Of course I felt a bit nauseous.  My stomach was in knots but not from some mate bond.  I just felt horrible.”  
   
“That’s sort of what I thought.  I’m trying to figure out how this works.  Gabriel has only been with me for one day but I feel like I want to protect him.  I know we’re not mated but he told my dad this morning that we’re pack.  If so, who’s the Alpha?  It’s sure as hell not me,” Stiles said.   
“Since you brought up Alphas, why did Derek have your shirt?  I was wearing your shirt yesterday, wasn’t I, Stiles?” Allison asked, trying for innocence.  “It wasn’t clean, either.”  
   
“I don’t have any idea why Derek does anything.  I haven’t seen that shirt since the day Scott and I found out that Derek was back in town.  Come to think of it, I don’t know how it would have gotten to him because I didn’t take it off until I was home.”  Stiles sat silently for a minute, fidgeting.  “Allison, I know you don’t really like me a lot,” he started.  
   
“That’s not true, Stiles,” she interrupted.  “You’re a bit weird as I said earlier but your heart is always in the right place.”

“Thank you, I think,’ he said.  “If I tell you something, will you swear not to say anything?”  
   
“Again, not if it will get me in trouble with Derek,” Allison said, quickly.  
   
“It shouldn’t,” Stiles replied.  “You know how I’ve always loved Lydia?  She never gave me a second glance, ever.  I sort of felt like I could love her because she’d rejected me way back in third grade.  She’s safe, you know?  I will never be with her, I know that now.  I mean, I’ve always known but after what happened Saturday night with her and Jackson?  She’s clearly his anchor.  I can’t compete with that.  I need to move on.  The thing is, I think another girl just wouldn’t work.”  Stiles sighed and rested his hands on his knees.  
   
“Of course you’ll meet the right girl, Stiles.  Maybe not in high school  Most girls here want a jock.  Once you get to college, they’re going to want the guy who is successful in the world, not just on a lacrosse field,” Allison spoke softly to him.

“Allison, I'm not sure I want another girl,” Stiles said.

“Stiles, you can't just give up on your own happiness because Lydia didn't work out for you. You probably feel like your heart is broken but trust me, it'll get easier and then you'll be looking at someone else the same way,” Allison said.

“Did Derek tell you about Gabriel and what he did for me?” Stiles asked, changing the subject.

“Derek told me that you saved his brother. That he'd been locked up for who knows how long and that you jumped in front of a rabid werewolf to protect Gabriel not even knowing he wasn't a wolf. He said he'd never seen anything braver and that you're an idiot,” Allison responded. “Which, by the way, I think is stupid but the most courageously stupid thing I've ever known you to do.” Allison leaned over and gave Stiles a quick peck on the cheek.

Stiles blushed and leaned back. “It really didn't happen that way, Allison. Gerard almost killed me and Derek came up behind him and snapped his neck to save me. I'm always getting into trouble.” Stiles seemed to shrink into himself and he leaned his head forward into his knees. “Everything I do puts someone else in danger. And on top of it all, when Derek picked me up, he smelled so good. What if I am starting to be attracted to guys, Allison? My dad can't handle that on top of everything else.”

The thought of Derek pressed up against him made Stiles feel light headed so he tried to clear out the memory and the smell of Derek's leather from his brain. It didn't work.

“Your dad will love you no matter what. In the scheme of our lives the last few months, that's not even a bump in the road, Stiles,” she chided him. 

“Why do you think Derek had my dirty shirt, Allison?” Stiles asked.

“I don't want to ask him, I know that. Maybe I'll ask Peter. He probably won't give me a direct answer but maybe,” Allison trailed off. “He sort of scares me, Stiles. It's like he's going out of his way to be nice to me at Derek's but there has to be some sort of ulterior motive.”

“Derek won't let him do anything to you, Allison,” Stiles said.

“Derek is hardly ever there. I have no idea where he goes.” The bell rang, startling both teenagers. 

“Yikes,” Stiles said, “time to see your boyfriend I've been avoiding all day. Thanks for talking with me, Allison.” Stiles stood up with Allison. She leaned in and gave him a quick hug. 

“We don't have to stop being friends because Scott and I broke up, Stiles.” Allison headed back into the school to get to class. 

Stiles went to his locker and grabbed his Spanish text and went to class. Five minutes later, right as the bell rang, Stiles walked in.  He slid into the chair behind Scott.  Scott turned around and sniffed and smelled a fading scent of…  Desire?  Lust?  Coming from Stiles?  He remembered what Aiden said about Stiles sitting with Allison on the stairs and suddenly all Scott could see was red.  His eyes shifted and he could feel his wolf struggling to rise to the surface.  He could smell Allison all over Stiles. “Stiles,” he growled, “what did you do to Allison?!”    
   
Stiles backed up, dragging the desk with him.  “Dude!  Calm down, you’re shifting,” he whispered to Scott.  
   
Scott was beyond control.  He jumped out of the chair and grabbed Stiles by the front of his shirt.  He lifted him up from his desk and slammed him into the wall behind him.  “I know you’re pissed because your future ex-wife who doesn’t even know you exist decided rebound kissing me would be a lot hotter than slumming with a loser like you but you need to stay the hell away from Allison.  She’s mine!” Scott screamed and shoved Stiles further up the wall, claws out and ready to start tearing him apart.  
   
“Mr. McCall, you will put him down immediately and show yourself to the principal’s office!” Mrs. Mesquita yelled.  The class was silent, staring at Scott holding up his best friend against the wall.  
   
Scott dropped Stiles and headed out.  “You don’t want to be near me again, Stiles.  I’ll kill you for this,” he said quietly.  
   
Stiles slumped down onto his haunches and stared at Scott as he walked out of the classroom.

The teacher asked Stiles if he needed some time and he declined, sitting back into his chair and pretending like nothing horrible had just happened. He could feel the depression like a stone in his stomach and he was unable to pay attention to anything his teacher said. Fortunately, she didn't call on him once during class. Stiles made it through the rest of the school day and rushed to his Jeep to drive home. He didn't want to see Scott, especially after he threatened him. When he got home he walked in and saw Gabriel and his father watching a football game. Gabriel was snug up against his father but as soon as Stiles walked in the door, he bounded up and put his arms around him and snuggled into his neck like he'd done that morning. Stiles smiled. 'At least someone wants me around,' he thought to himself. “Did dad feed you, Gabe?” he asked. 

“Stiles, of course I fed him. I do know how to take care of people, you know. You're still alive.” his father snapped.

“I could eat,” Gabe said.

“Ha! I knew it,” Stiles said. “Let's get some food and then I have homework to do.”

Gabriel followed Stiles into the kitchen and they ate. Gabriel tilted his head to the side and Stiles heard knocking on his front door. His heart started to race, worried that Scott decided to bring this to his house. He heard his dad get up and head to the door.

“Dad, stop! Don't answer that!” Stiles yelled from the kitchen as he ran forward to the front door. “Gabriel, do you know who it is?”

Gabriel, sensing Stiles's panic, looked a little skittish before he nodded. “Derek.”

“Oh, thank God,” Stiles whispered. His panic subsided and he opened the door. Derek stood there uncomfortably. 

“Hello, Stiles. Do you think Gabriel would let me see him today?” Derek asked formally.

“I'll ask him,” Stiles answered.

The Sheriff came up behind Stiles. “I'm sorry that my son is so rude, Derek. It's clearly my failure as a parent.” He glared at Stiles who at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “Come in. We'll get Gabriel and we can all talk in the living room. Please, can I take your jacket?” 

Derek handed his jacket wordlessly to the Sheriff. He stood awkwardly in front of the the door until the Sheriff pointed to the couch. Stiles sat on the recliner and Gabriel climbed up on him and sat in his lap. The Sheriff sat near Derek on the couch. “Gabriel, don't you want to sit near your brother?” Stiles asked. Gabriel did not answer and he did not move from Stiles's lap. 

“Derek, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do. Please don't kill me,” Stiles said.

“I am not going to kill you, Stiles.” Derek crossed his arms and gave Stiles a dirty look. 

“This is all very mature, boys,” said the Sheriff. “Stiles, what do you have in mind?”

“Well, I was reading some books that Dea... Well, that I found,” Stiles said.

“Lie,” said Derek.

“Well, whatever, I was reading some books about packs and I think we need to mix our scents so Gabriel is more comfortable with you. My dad already must smell like me since Gabriel seems to like him already. So, maybe I should sit by you, Derek?” Stiles flushed deeply.

He made Gabriel get off of his lap and walked over to the couch and sat between Derek and the Sheriff. This was the closest he'd ever been to Derek and not been in danger. Derek stiffened next to him, clearly uncomfortable but he didn't move. “I don't like this plan,” Gabriel offered. He slowly walked over to Stiles, not wanting to be apart from him but instead of sitting near Derek, he squished himself between Stiles and the Sheriff. 

Andy laughed, “Best laid plans and all that, son of mine.”

“Dad, not funny. Gabriel, come here and sit between me and Derek,” Stiles said.

“Not happening,” Gabriel grunted. “He still smells angry and like something else.”

Derek turned red. “Gabriel, I won't hurt you. You're my brother, I would never do anything to hurt you.” 

Gabriel stood up and shifted into a wolf. He buried his nose into Stiles's crotch. “Bad dog, what the hell?!” Stiles shouted, backing up quickly and almost climbing over the couch. 

Gabriel moved over to Derek and did the same thing, only Derek did not flinch. He stepped back and shifted back into a human and put his pants back on. “That smell is coming from both of you.”

The Sheriff said stiffly, “Is there something I should know, boys?” He did not look happy. 

“No, sir,” said Derek.

“Oh my God. Dad, what the hell is that? Are you trying to kill me or get me killed?” Stiles ran up the stairs to his room and slammed the door behind him. Gabriel followed Stiles up the stairs and whined at the door. Stiles let him in. He then slammed the door again, just to make a point to his father.

Derek got up to leave. 

“Have a seat, Derek. I think you and I need to have a chat, man to man,” Andy said, frowning.

 

Isaac

Isaac waited for Scott after school but he never showed up. He'd heard about the confrontation between Stiles and Scott. The entire school probably knew. He saw Allison coming out of the front doors of the school. “Allison,” he called.

She turned to him, tears in her eyes. “Did you put him up to that, Isaac? Are you trying to make him push Stiles away?”

Isaac looked at her and shook his head. “No, why would you ever think that?”

“You've basically left Derek's pack to join Scott's and suddenly he's throwing Stiles around at school? In a class full of witnesses? People are saying that he had claws, Isaac. Do you know what that means?” Allison was on the edge of panic. Isaac could smell it on her.

“Allison, calm down. I want to find Scott, talk to him and find out what happened. You know how things can get exaggerated. We need to find out the entire story before we come to any conclusions,” Isaac said, not sounding entirely convinced himself.

“I don't think that's a good idea. If he's going to beat up his best friend, what do you think he's going to do to you if you're talking to me? I need to go, Derek's right there, waiting for me,” Allison pointed to Derek's Camaro. 

“Wait, why is Derek waiting for you? Why are you going anywhere with him?” Isaac asked, worried. 

“He's the only one around here who isn't lying to me, Isaac,” she said pointedly. “When you're ready to be honest with me, I'll be with Derek.”

Allison walked quickly to Derek's car and got in. 

Isaac stared after her. He needed to know what was going on and no one was sharing. He decided that maybe he'd head over to Stiles's house and ask him, although he knew Scott wouldn't like it. Right now, Scott didn't seem like he was in the best state of mind. 

Isaac decided to head back to the subway and do some homework before heading to Stiles's house. He didn't know how long he'd be gone. After he finished what he needed to get done, he texted Stiles to see if he was home and if he'd even talk to him. Stiles texted him back and told him to stay away, he had too many dogs in his house as it was and he wasn't afraid to call the pound. Isaac took that as permission to come over. He jogged over to Stiles's house, surprised to see Derek's Camaro in the driveway next to Stiles's Jeep. He jumped up onto the roof and tapped lightly on the window. Stiles opened the curtain and sighed. 

“I thought I said don't come over. I know that's easily confused with do come over,” he quipped as he opened the window for Isaac and waved his hand for him to come in, “but since you're here, would you like any tea, cookies? Anything I can get for you?” 

Isaac didn't always understand Stiles's sense of humor so he smiled thinly and looked around the room. There was a wolf on Stiles's bed. Isaac cautiously walked closer, sniffing. The wolf growled, low in his throat, clearly indicating that Isaac should come no closer. Isaac stopped and put his hand up. “I'm stopping here, little one.” He backed up and sat down in the computer chair.

“Really, what do you want? Answer fast before I get bored and sic him on you. He'd do it,” Stiles said, and Isaac couldn't tell by his heartbeat if he was lying or not. 

“I heard about what happened at school and I can't find Scott. Is it true? Did he attack you? Are you sleeping with Allison? Is that why she dumped him?” Isaac spit out.

“Slow down there, Rover,” Stiles said. “First off, yes, Scott went a little crazy. He may have threatened to kill me if he saw me again.” Isaac's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. “And sleeping with Allison? First, she wouldn't have sex with me in the whole desert island last man on the planet scenario. I mean, look at her. Look at me. I know you're not that blind. She dumped him because he's a liar.”

“There's nothing wrong with you, Stiles. I mean, sure, you're a spaz and probably need to eat a little bit more but no one's perfect,” Isaac said.

“Thanks for that heartfelt pity compliment, Isaac. All of my self-esteem issues are now resolved,” deadpanned Stiles, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, anything else, I mean, since you're here and in my room for no reason except you're like an old lady with a soap opera.”

“Why is Derek here and why do you have a wolf on your bed and why won't he stop looking at me?” Isaac asked.

“I was only trying to be polite when I asked if you had any more questions, Isaac,” Stiles said. “It's not my place to tell you why I have a wolf in my house but if you want to know why Derek's here, why don't you ask him? I'm sure he could use the save.”

Isaac cocked his eyebrow at Stiles. “I'm not going to get killed or anything if I go down there, am I?”

“Your life there, pup. I'm staying in here until Derek's gone,” Stiles said.

“Derek's coming up the stairs now,” Isaac told Stiles.

“Awww, how can you tell that? My life is so unfair! I'm sure I've got some mountain ash or wolfsbane in here somewhere,” said Stiles.

“I'd smell it if you did,” Isaac said and suddenly Derek knocked on the door.

“Stiles, I need to talk with you,” he said from the other side of the door.

“Go away. Be someone else's problem. Go find Timmy. I heard there's a well nearby and he may have fallen in,” Stiles shouted through the door. 

Derek laughed. Isaac looked at Stiles and Stiles looked back. Isaac's lips twitched up in a smile. He'd never heard Derek laugh before. Stiles couldn't help it, he giggled a little. Isaac started laughing and Stiles couldn't help himself. He started laughing full belly laughs. Gabriel huffed on the bed like he couldn't believe how stupid everyone was being. 

“Seriously, dude, go away. I'm trying to preserve what dignity I have left here and you're ruining my pristine image of awesomeness,” said Stiles, still laughing.

“Please, Stiles. Just... I need to talk with you, okay?” Derek said, sounding serious.

Stiles stopped laughing and so did Isaac. “Did he just say 'please' to me, Isaac?” Stiles whispered. 

“Yes. He can hear you, Stiles,” Isaac answered.

Stiles blushed. “Of course he can.”

“You can come in if Isaac can stay,” Stiles said to Derek. 

“He can stay but this will have to stay between the three of us. You can't go back and talk to Scott about this, Isaac,” said Derek.

“Gabriel stays, too, Derek.” Stiles looked over to Gabriel on the bed. He didn't look like he was going to move any time soon. 

“I'd be more comfortable if he was with your father. He'll still be able to hear everything we say, Stiles.” 

Gabriel jumped off of the bed and padded to the door. Stiles opened it and Gabriel skirted around Derek and then bounded down the stairs to find Andy. Derek looked very uncomfortable, more than usual. He was wearing his normal dark henley, jacket downstairs probably still draped over the couch. Stiles looked away and sat down in the warm spot left by Gabriel on his bed. 

Isaac stood up. “Actually, I don't want to be here for this. I'm sorry, Stiles.”

“It's okay. Go ahead and leave me. Everyone else does. Come visit again next time you need some answers and then want to ditch. You could at least leave a dollar on the table so I'd feel more like a hooker and less like a whore,” said Stiles, pissed off that he was being left alone with Derek.

Isaac shrugged and jumped out the window. He had things to do and being uncomfortable around his former Alpha was not on his short list. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on with Scott.

 

Stiles and Derek

“Stiles,” Derek began.

“Derek,” Stiles interrupted, sarcastically.

“What?” asked Derek.

“Nothing. I know you know my name. Just proving I know yours, too,” said Stiles.

“Can we not do this? I know Deaton gave you those books.”

“What books?” Stiles asked.

“Seriously? Fine, you're going to make me do this. Stiles, do you have any feelings towards me?” Derek asked.

“Let's see. Fear. That's a strong feeling I have. Uh, irritation, because you just irritate me on principle. A pretty big heap of dislike, that's a good one. I dislike being pushed into the wall. Of course, that could be a werewolf thing in general since Scott has apparently decided it's okay, too,” Stiles said.

“What do you mean? Did Scott push you into the wall?” Derek interrupted, face going from calm to pissed. He stood up and grabbed Stiles by the shoulders.

“Oh, that's old news now, at least four hours. Where have you been? No puppy express in the mail for you?” snarked Stiles. “And put me down, you brute. This is an abusive relationship and I'm not even getting sex out of it. Stiles blushed. “What I mean is, I don't want any sex and your idea of foreplay just sucks.” Stiles dropped his head. “What I mean to say is ignore everything that comes out of my mouth and please leave now so I can kill myself. I know I have pills around here somewhere.”

“We're talking about what happened with Scott in a minute, Stiles, after we're done with this. I just spent the last thirty minutes with your father explaining some things about wolves and werewolves that I thought were relevant to him,” Derek said. “How much have you read regarding pack dynamics?”

“Not a lot, yet. I read the part about mating and bonding,” said Stiles. I didn't understand the parts about how a human would gain some sort of hyped up sensory awareness of the werewolf they're bonded to. I didn't finish the entire section though. From what I read, there doesn't seem to be much choice in the matter on the part of the human or the werewolf.”

“That's part of what I need to talk to you about,” said Derek. “There is some magic involved and I don't understand all of it. I do know that once the bond is acknowledged by both parties, it's for life.”

“Are you going to narrate this like a nature show? Have you met your mate? Is it Allison? That'd be great. I can't way to see how that's going to play out,” Stiles said.

“No, Allison is not my mate, Stiles.” Derek shrugged. “What else did you read about?”

“How to join a pack. How Omegas assimilate into packs where they're welcomed. Lots of stuff about scenting and touch and how it's not sexual unless it's between bonded pairs but the intimacy is a normal part of being pack. Scott never told me any of this stuff,” Stiles responded.

“He wouldn't have known. I mean, the instinct is there and it's pretty strong but how would you have felt if Scott started sniffing you and touching you all of the time? The instinct to do that can be pretty overwhelming to born wolves but bitten wolves have to overcome a lifetime of not doing that,” Derek said.

“That makes sense. If Scott had started doing that to me, I probably would have been weirded out,” Stiles said. “Anyhoodle, why are you asking me all of this? Do you want me to be your Giles now? Do you have more books for me to read?”

“Actually, I don't think I'm ready to have this conversation with you, Stiles. I thought I was but it was a mistake.”

“Aw, c'mon, big guy. I thought we were bonding. After the national humiliate Stiles day that you and my dad were throwing downstairs I thought we were amigos, fist bumping pals, you know?” said Stiles, knowing that Derek didn't want to be his friend but that Stiles just didn't want to be alone. 

“No, I need to leave.” Derek walked back out of the room and went downstairs. 

Stiles heard the door open, then close. He looked out the window to see Derek get into his car and drive away. He sniffed under his arms. He hadn't forgotten to wear deodorant. He flopped back onto the bed. A second later he heard Gabriel rush up the stairs and come flying around the corner into his room. He leaped up on the bed, front paws landing on Stiles's stomach causing all of the air to whoosh out of him. “At least someone is happy to see me,” Stiles muttered. He put his arms behind his head while Gabriel settled himself on his legs. 

“Stiles,” said his father. “Did Derek talk everything over with you?”

“If you mean by talk ask me questions about nothing, then yes, he did. If you mean did we have a useful conversation about anything relevant to my life, then no,” Stiles answered.

“Well, it's not my place to talk about it then. After you two have talked more, you and I can talk. Don't forget to do your homework. We'll talk more tomorrow when you get out of school about Gabriel. I have a couple of ideas about school for him that I'd like to bounce off of you, if that's okay.”

“Sure, dad, sounds great. I'll clear my busy social calendar to make time for you. You bet, all Stiles, all the time.” Stiles turned his head away from the door.

“Okay, son. I'm going to head in to work. I'll be back before you get out of school tomorrow. There's some money on the counter if you want to go get some dinner.” Andy left the room and went to get ready for work.

Stiles laid back and tried not to let his thoughts take over. Allison, at least, was nice to him. His best friend wanted to kill him though because of that so he thought it might be best to stay away from her for now. Jackson and Lydia were off the table. Neither one of them really liked Stiles before the whole werewolf revelation so that wasn't likely to change. Isaac was Scott's Beta so by default not a good idea. And Derek didn't even seem to want to be in the same room as Stiles. If it wasn't for Gabriel, he probably wouldn't come over at all. Which made Stiles stop to think. He wanted Derek to come over. When had that changed? Yeah, Derek was super uncomfortable and sat on the edge of the couch like it would bite him but he liked knowing that he was there. He liked that Derek was willing to suffer just so he could be close to his last remaining family member. And that was the root of it. He was suffering just by being near Stiles. Everyone seemed to suffer just by being around Stiles. 'Common denominator, that's me,' Stiles thought. Stiles groaned out loud which earned him a look from Gabriel. 

Stiles decided the best thing to do was to just stay away from everyone. He had Gabriel. He had his father, maybe twice a week but he had to love him. That was his job. Stiles would just have to figure out a way to make Gabriel visit with Derek without needing to stay downstairs with them. Then Derek wouldn't have to see him at all. The thought made him sad but he'd do whatever it took to reunite the brothers. Stiles fell asleep with Gabriel's warmth on his legs. 

 

Peter

After Derek dropped Allison off at the house, he told her he had a couple of things to do and asked if she'd be okay with Peter for a bit. Peter heard the conversation and let out a little laugh he knew that Derek would hear but Allison wouldn't. “She'll be fine, nephew,” Peter said quietly. “Maybe she'll teach me how to knit. I've always wanted to learn.” He knew Derek would roll his eyes and maybe smile. 

“Allison, dear, how was school?” Peter asked when Allison walked in. 

“Too much homework. I don't suppose you know French, Peter? I have a huge test tomorrow and lately studying has been sort of difficult for me,” Allison said.

“Actually, I do. What are you working on?” Peter asked. This could be fun. He'd been thinking about his conversation with Deucalion for most of the day and trying to decide whether or not to tell Derek about it. This would be a welcome distraction.

“We're working on past tense verb conjugations. I feel like I'm only saying half of a word when I talk. I just don't get it.” 

Peter explained some basics about pronunciation and the afternoon passed easily until Allison asked, “Why did you give me Stiles's shirt? Why did Derek have it?”

“My dear, that is a talk you'll have to have with my Alpha. I would never divulge his secret crush,” Peter said, grinning.

“Uh, are you saying that he has a crush on Stiles? I mean, really? Stiles is a nice guy and all but Derek? He's like a twelve on a scale of one to ten. Why would he even look twice at Stiles. And I thought Derek was after the ladies. I mean, he was with my aunt before she went all psycho.”

“I do believe Aunt Kate was psycho before she seduced my nephew and maybe that's what pushed him over the fence?” Peter responded. “Either way, this is out of his control. If he's hoarding shirts, it seems to me that his wolf has made the decision for him. Stiles must have feelings for Derek, too, or this couldn't happen.”

“Does Stiles know?” asked Allison, remembering her talk with him at lunch.

“Allison, dear, I'm pretty sure Derek won't say anything and as smart as Stiles is, he can be pretty oblivious about some things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not Beta'd again so any mistakes are mine.


	4. Kidnapped

Stiles

Two months had passed with no sign of Scott. Mrs. McCall had stopped calling Stiles and instead went every day to the police station to find out if the Sheriff had found anything. She knew something had happened since nothing was taken from his room.

Stiles left school on Friday afternoon feeling anxious and scared. Scott's threat hadn't seemed idle. They'd fought in the past but Scott had never looked at him like he had when he's smelled Allison on Stiles. The look of pure hatred. Stiles ducked out of the gym door and headed out into the pouring rain, scared that Scott might show up finally to kill him or at least maim him. Stiles hadn't talked to Allison and even though it seemed like they'd bonded a little, she made no effort to talk to him since.

He got into the Jeep, soaking wet, plaid shirt cold through to his shoulders. He shivered and shrugged off the plaid shirt. Better to be a little cold than soaking wet. He started the Jeep and headed home. True to his word, his father had worked out Gabriel's school situation. He'd contacted Lydia through the principal at Beacon Hills High and asked if she'd be willing to tutor him. She agreed and was scheduled to come over to the Sheriff's home this evening. Stiles wanted to get there before she did so he could change into dry clothes and hide in his room. He wasn't sure he could handle her ignoring him at his own home like she had steadfastly been doing at school. His one attempt at talking to her about what happened to Jackson earned him a slap before she turned around on her killer heel and stormed down the hallway muttering, “The nerve, Stilinski, to think you deserve to speak to me.”

He slowed as he neared his house, seeing Lydia's Bug parked along the sidewalk in front of his house. “Crap,” he groaned and parked in the driveway. He thought about climbing over the fence and going around back to enter through the kitchen but that would be ridiculous. For a moment he even considered climbing up the tree and trying to get into his bedroom through the window but hey, no werewolf jumpy powers so that was out of the question. He steeled himself and walked in the front door. Lydia was sitting on the couch, reading, and Gabriel was hunched over papers filling out a multiple choice test with a pencil. Which he had chewed on. Stiles mentally filed away the thought to pick up some raw hides for him and then chided himself. Gabriel couldn't help who he was and it probably had to do with nerves more than with his wolfy tendencies. Stiles had chewed many a pen and pencil while in the presence of Lydia Martin. She did not even glance up at him when he walked in so he said nothing and made his way to the stairs, wet shoes squeaking the entire way. Lydia, of course, looked completely dry and then he noticed her giant flowered umbrella leaning up against the wall near the door. 

“Hey, Gabriel,” Stiles said, turning around. Gabriel looked up at him smiled radiantly and then frowned. 

“What's wrong?” he asked. “You smell... Sad.”

“Gabriel, please finish that up, sweetie. It'll help me know where to start with your tutoring,” Lydia admonished gently. She looked over at Stiles but didn't say anything and he looked down at his shoes. 

“It's nothing, buddy. Get back to it. I'll be in my room when you're all done,” Stiles answered. He trudged up the stairs, water squelching with every step. Stiles grabbed some dry clothes and went into the bathroom to change. Gabriel had no personal boundaries and had walked in on Stiles a few times while he was changing, to Stiles's complete embarrassment. He was used to changing around the guys in the locker rooms but he felt creepy being naked around the twelve year old, although Gabriel seemed like he could care less. He was practically naked all the time while he was a wolf and when he shifted to a human. Stiles put on a Green Lantern t-shirt and a flannel button up. He threw on some mostly clean jeans and stopped in his room to grab his hamper. He went downstairs to throw his wet clothes and the contents of the hamper in the washing machine. He started it and hurried back up the stairs. He didn't want more Lydia awkwardness. He sat down and turned on his computer to play some World of Warcraft. He figured he'd do a marathon tonight. Gabriel would probably come upstairs and either watch him or do Netflix on Stile's laptop. He seemed addicted to Desperate Housewives and while Stiles wasn't sure if he should be watching that, he wasn't going to snitch on him to the Sheriff.

Stiles heard the door downstairs shut and figured Lydia had left. Until he heard the shouting. “What the hell are you doing here, Hale? Lydia's high pitched voice caused the hair on Stiles's neck to stand on end. He bolted out of his room and flew down the stairs.

Derek was looking trapped by the door where Gabriel had apparently let him in. “Lydia, what are you doing?” Stiles asked, quietly. “He's here to see his brother.”

“His brother who he dumped on your father?” Lydia retorted, not looking away from Derek. “Oh, I know what's going on here. He's abandoned Gabriel and now he's pretending to give a crap because he needs to build his pack back up. I know how this works, Hale. I've been reading all about werewolves and your control issues. Gabriel wasn't handy before but now you're feeling the pack separation with Erica, Isaac, and Boyd all leaving you. But he's not yours now. You gave him up the second you pushed him on the Sheriff and the clueless idiot.”

“Clueless idiot standing right here,” Stiles said softly.

Derek looked like he was in agony. Stiles looked at Derek and back to Lydia. “That's not what happened,” Stiles said to the back of her head.

“I'll bet you think you know what happened, Stilinski but let me tell you what actually happened. Derek here, in his infinite wisdom as an Alpha, dumped his brother on you and your dad because he didn't want to deal with the responsibility of him. Your dad set up his tutoring. You're babysitting him while your dad's at work and that's probably not a good idea anyway. It's a miracle he's still alive. But what is Derek doing? Nothing at all.”

“For someone who's so smart, you've figured everything out about this totally wrong, Lyds,” Stiles said, using a nickname he knew she hated. “Gabriel made the choice to stay here and Derek is respecting that. We're working on getting Gabriel used to his scent again. He's been away from Derek for so long it's not familiar any more and he's uncomfortable being around another werewolf. Derek's here to get some scent in the house. That sounds bad, he's not like, peeing on the walls or anything but he's...”

“Shut up, Stiles,” Derek growled. “Thank you for helping him, Lydia. You're right about me abandoning him. I don't know how to take care of him.”

“You can't even take care of yourself,” she spoke quietly, some of the heat dropping from her voice. 

Derek's shoulders slumped. He turned around to leave and Gabriel spoke for the first time since the shouting started. “Please don't leave, Derek.”

Lydia looked at him and saw how hurt he looked. “I'm so sorry I said all that with you here, sweetie. You shouldn't have had to hear that. I know that Stiles and Andy love you. I'm sure Derek does, too, in his own stupid way.” She walked over to him and gave him a hug. “I've got to get going. I'll take this stuff and look over it this weekend and have some lessons for you on Monday, okay? If you need anything, call me, any time day or night.” She wrote down her cell number and gave it to him. “Even if you just need a break from these morons.”

She took his test, her purse, and opening her umbrella, left, leaving Derek, Stiles, and Gabriel all looking at each other in silence.

Stiles was the first to talk. “Gabriel, are you okay with Derek by yourself? I have some stuff to do.

Gabriel nodded at him and Stiles made his way back upstairs. He was going to try to get a raid going and pretend that none of this had happened.

After two hours, Stiles knew it wasn't going to happen. He hadn't heard anything from downstairs so he assumed his house wasn't going to blow up. Everyone he'd asked to raid with him told him that he'd have to find someone else. He had been online so infrequently that all of his friends had found other people to raid with so Stiles didn't have the right gear score to even join them. “Great, I'm even getting blown off by my imaginary friends.” Stiles logged off and stared at his computer screen. His cell phone rang, startling him. He ran over to the bed and saw it was his father.

“Hey, dad, what's up?” 

“I won't make it home tonight, kiddo. We just got a real messy case. You okay to get dinner set up for you and Gabe?” the Sheriff asked.

“You bet. I can take us out to get a pizza or something. He loves pizza,” Stiles answered, thinking of the deep dish he was going to order. Heaven.

“You need to stay in the house. And before you ask, I'm not going to tell you anything except that if you don't stay in, you'll be grounded until you're collecting social security. In fact, I'm going to call Derek and have him keep an eye on you guys,” the Sheriff said.

“Oh my God. I don't need a baby sitter, dad,” Stiles whined.

“I beg to differ, o fruit of my loins,” Andy answered. 

“Derek's already here. He's bonding downstairs with Gabe now. Can I at least order a pizza for delivery? I really wanted a pizza,” Stiles begged.

“That's fine. Do I need to call Derek or are you going to stay home?” the Sheriff asked.

“Please spare me any more humiliation. I mean, legit, Dad. I'll stay home, order a pizza, and Gabe and I can sit and watch some quality soaps.” 

“Good. Stay home, Stiles. That's an order.” Andy hung up.

Stiles yelled downstairs, “Pizza tonight, Gabe. What do you want on it?”

“Derek wants to go out to get some food, if that's okay, Stiles,” Gabriel answered.

Stiles blinked. He couldn't exactly not let Gabriel go with Derek. Derek was his brother and he wasn't going to hurt him. But he knew that dinner would just be the start. Then Gabriel would want to stay the night at Derek's. And then he would just stop coming home. Stiles had already started thinking of Gabriel as the little brother he never had. He hadn't, however, started thinking of Derek as the big brother he never had. More like the bully at school he couldn't get away from every day.

Stiles tried to take a deep breath and realized he couldn't. He couldn't get any air into his lungs. Gabriel was going to leave him. The last person who wanted to be with Stiles. Stiles started to choke and he fell to his knees at the top of the stairs, seeing spots of light out of the corners of his eyes. He crawled toward his bedroom, one hand on his throat as he managed on his knees to get to the door. Stiles was panicking. His breath was whistling and he felt like he was going to black out. If only he could get some air. He fell onto the floor in his room. He was going to be alone. Completely alone. Like when his mom left in the middle of the night and never came back. He crawled up into the fetal position, elbows at his knees and both hands at his throat. 

“Listen to me breathe, Stiles,” he heard followed by an exaggerated deep breath. He tried to copy the breath. He felt a little air going in but it wasn't enough. His mind wandered back to thoughts of being alone and suddenly he started shaking, desperate for air. Stiles was roughly grabbed, still in the fetal position, and maneuvered with his back up against Derek's torso. He felt Derek take a deep breath and he tried to copy it. He managed to get some air down and he breathed back out with Derek. He could feel Derek's breath at his neck, moist and warm. Another breath in with Derek. Another breath out. He finally felt like he could move his limbs when the shame set in. He could feel the tears starting and he couldn't stop them. 

Gabe was standing in front of him and staring. 

The tears flowed and Stiles was shuddering, still in Derek's vice grip. His breath was hitching and he was soon sobbing. He tried to extricate himself from Derek but Derek wouldn't release him. 

“Let me go,” Stiles wheezed out. Gabriel was freaking out. He had shifted and was howling in front of Stiles. “Let me go, now!” Stiles jerked away from Derek and tried to get up to run away but his legs betrayed him and instead he fell forward, splayed across his rug. He gave up and just brought his hands up to his face and just gave into the crying. He curled up again. Gabriel whined and pushed his face up between Stiles's arms and laid down on the rug next to him. Stiles vaguely heard Derek get up and suddenly he was lifted into the air by Derek like he weighed nothing. Derek held him close to his chest. 

“Get it all out Stiles, it's okay,” he whispered. He rocked Stiles back and forth, slowly. The crying slowly tapered off but the snot was still running out of his nose and his eyes felt swollen.

“Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed. Can you put me down, please?” Stiles asked after about ten more minutes.. “And then can you go home and we can act like this never happened?”

“I will put you down if you can look me in the eye and tell me that you're okay,” answered Derek. Stiles still had his hands over his eyes. He could feel Gabriel's hands on his calves. The kid must have shifted back, he thought, idly.

“I didn't realize we were bargaining, Derek. Just put me down.” Derek grunted but he did not put Stiles down. “Please put me down?”

“Stiles, I need an explanation of how we went to possible pizza toppings to you almost choking to death and then having a break down on the floor,” said Derek.

“You were going to take Gabriel away from me,” Stiles whispered.

“I was going to take Gabriel to get some food. We were going to ask you to come with us, Stiles. In fact, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have gone if you said no,” Derek huffed.

“Oh.” That was all Stiles could say.

“I'm not leaving you, Stiles. You're my pack, and Dad, too,” Gabriel said, stroking Stiles's arm.

Stiles finally moved his hands from his face and looked at Gabriel. He smiled at Gabriel. “Really? I'm in your pack?” 

“Of course you are, you big dummy,” said Gabriel, looking very sad.

“Okay, chick flick moment over. Put me down, Derek.” Derek walked over and dumped Stiles onto the bed. “Well, that proves you're not a pod person. We're back into typical Derek behavior,” Stiles snarked. Derek didn't bother to answer, instead, moving out of the way for Gabriel who threw himself onto Stiles. 

“You can't do that again, Stiles. You don't know what that smells like. You scared me,” Gabriel had tears coming down his face. 

“I'm sorry, kiddo, really. I'll try not to do that again. Just promise you won't leave, okay?” Stiles said and ran his hands through Gabriel's hair. “C'mon, Derek, get over here and get all your scenting stuff going. I read all about the bad touch and good touch stuff.” Derek hesitated a second and then toed off his shoes. He climbed onto the bed and cautiously reached out, putting his arms around Gabriel and Stiles with Gabriel in the middle of them. Stiles rested his head on Derek's shoulder, and then stiffened, when he realized his mouth was up against Derek's neck. Derek went still and stopped breathing. Stiles slowly moved his head back and said quickly, “Derek, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking.”

'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die,' thought Stiles. He'd just threatened an Alpha werewolf by putting his teeth at his throat.

“It's okay, Stiles,” said Derek and he cupped his hand around the back of Stiles's head and moved it back against his throat.

“Can we order a couple of pizzas?” Stiles asked, tasting the salt on Derek's neck as he did. He was suddenly starving.

Derek sighed. He released Stiles and reached around to his back pocket to grab his phone. “What do you want on your pizza, you two,” he asked with his hand pressed against his forehead like he couldn't believe what he was doing when his phone rang.

 

Isaac

Isaac woke up screaming and thrashing, the fear from his nightmare and his thick sweat pungent smells to his heightened senses. He calmed once he realized he was back in his basement on the mattress he'd dragged down from his bedroom. Moving in with Scott hadn't worked out, since Scott had just abandoned him so Isaac went back to his home where the scents of his father and brother dominated. Isaac was getting more and more frayed around the edges. Werewolves weren't supposed to be without a pack. He was stressed, small things making him angry. Just waiting in line for a coffee had caused his claws to start coming out. He was only seeing red, envisioning himself slaughtering the three stupid humans in front of him, holding up the line. He'd had to leave the shop in a hurry. Isaac had stopped going to school two weeks ago. He couldn't focus, couldn't keep himself in check. He had been putting off seeing Derek. He'd left Derek and he didn't want to come crawling back with his metaphorical tail between his legs ('heh', he laughed a little, to himself, 'stupid pun') but at this point, that could be his only option. He knew instinctively that without an Alpha, he was going to deteriorate to the point of being an Omega, a feral beast with no self control. That option was worse than being indentured to Derek. With a weight on his shoulders and a fear of rejection, he loosened himself from the sheet he'd shredded and went to brush his teeth. 

After cleaning up, Isaac started to jog over to Derek's. He'd managed to sleep almost the entire day away and it was almost 5:00. He didn't eat anything before leaving. His stomach was twisted in on itself. He managed to get to Derek's quickly, sniffing the air around him. He walked up to the front door to be greeted by Peter who was coming around the front of the house. “Isaac, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Peter asked, squinting a bit at Isaac.

“Derek. I need Derek. Where is he?” said Isaac, looking at the ground. Peter scared him and he couldn't look him in the eye. He shuffled warily.

“Now, Isaac, why would I tell you where my Alpha is? You're not his. You have no business even being here, trespassing into our pack property. You gave up that right. Go. Now. Or I won't be responsible for what happens to you,” Peter smiled, showing fangs, his claws lengthening.

Isaac's eyes bulged. He knew he couldn't take Peter, especially in the condition he was in.

“Peter, oh my God, rein it in. I'm calling Derek. Stay there, Isaac,” Allison pointed, moving herself between Peter and Isaac on the porch and grabbing her cell. Peter retracted his claws, watching Isaac idly while Allison dialed Derek.

Derek answered immediately. “Allison, is everything okay?” Allison never called him. Derek went on high alert, immediately.

“Isaac's here, Derek. He's looking for you. Do you want to talk to him?” Allison answered.

“I'll be right over,” said Derek, already putting his shoes back on and headed downstairs, hanging up on Allison.

“He's coming over now. Peter, I'll stay out here with Isaac. If you get started on the carrots and onions, I'll come in and put everything else together.” She smiled sweetly at him and he grumbled but headed into the house to get food put together. Allison turned back to Isaac and frowned. “If you're here to hurt Derek, you'll need to go through me and I think we both know how that will turn out.”

“I couldn't hurt Derek if I wanted to, Allison. He'd kick my ass every time,” said Isaac. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Not really your business, now is it?” she answered. Isaac was starting to regret his decision to come out to the Hale property even more. 

He sat down on the steps and a few minutes later heard the familiar rumble of Derek's Camaro. Derek got out of the car and stepped up to Isaac. “Why are you here?” he asked, gruffly. He'd not wanted to leave Gabriel and he wasn't comfortable leaving Stiles after what had happened.

Isaac looked up at Derek and a tear leaked out of one eye. He leaned his head to the side, exposing his neck to Derek, submitting. Derek's fangs grew out and he clasped his teeth to Isaac's neck. Allison's eyes widened. “Don't kill him, Derek!” she shouted. Derek growled in response, biting Isaac enough to mark him as part of the Hale pack. 

“You don't leave this pack again, Isaac, or I will kill you,” Derek said, releasing Isaac and stepping back. “Where are you living now? You stink.”

“I went back to my house,” Isaac said, simply. “I couldn't move in with Scott. He left me and Derek, I can't handle this. I can't keep myself in control.”

“You will be able to now, Isaac. You should already be feeling calmer, more in control.”

And he was. Just being near Derek was calming him, helping him feel more at one with his wolf rather than feeling that he was in a boxing match that he knew he couldn't win. “You're coming with me, Isaac,” ordered Derek.

“Where are you going, Derek?” Allison asked.

“I'm going back to Stiles's, Allison. If you need something, call. Otherwise, I'll get back when I'm back.” Derek and Isaac got into the Camaro and headed to the Sheriff's. 

The ride back was silent but Derek kept a hand on Isaac's wrist until they arrived. He knew that Isaac would need the reassurance and touch. They pulled up to the house and Isaac followed behind Derek. Derek knocked and heard Stiles ask Gabriel who was at the door. When he told him, Stiles opened the door and let Derek and Isaac in. “He's with us now, Stiles,” said Derek in response to Stiles's raised eyebrows. 

“What us? Who do you mean by 'us', Derek? Did I get inducted into some secret parallel universe where you say 'us' and I'm part of that or do you mean you and Gabriel 'us' there, big guy?” Stiles looked at the wall behind Derek, and wished he could retract what he'd said. Stupid traitorous mouth.

“I'm not being tricky here, Stiles. You're taking care of my brother. He's my pack. You are, by extension, my pack. I wouldn't allow him to be here, no matter what, if you weren't. Your father, too. He and I have talked about this already. He and I weren't sure how you'd react to that so we didn't talk to you about that, yet,” answered Derek. “Either way, Isaac needs to bond with you and Gabriel. He's been on his own for too long. If you're uncomfortable with that, Gabriel will have to do for now.”

“What about you?” asked Stiles. 

Derek nodded, “Me, too.” Derek took the lead and sat down on the couch. Gabriel shifted into a wolf and jumped on his lap. Isaac sat down next to Derek and pressed himself into Derek's side. Derek put an arm around him and motioned for Stiles to sit down on the other side of him. Stiles was in shock. He'd gone from only being on the receiving end of Derek's physical violence to being invited to... What was this, cuddling? Twice in one day? Stiles thought his head might explode. He looked over at Isaac who had his eyes closed, one hand wrapped in Gabe's fur along his flank and a look of peace on his face. 

“What the hell,” Stiles said and jumped down on the couch next to Derek. Derek just put his arm around Stiles and pulled him close. 

And of course, someone knocked on the door. Stiles jumped up and raced to the door. “Pizza's here!” Derek stood up too fast, and Gabriel fell onto the floor with a yelp. Isaac had already started shifting into his Beta form.

“Don't open the door, Stiles!” Derek yelled, racing over and shifting into his Beta form but Stiles had already unlocked the door and was staring into the muzzle of a shot gun with his mouth hanging open.

 

 

Peter had been meeting Deucalion regularly since their first conversation. He personally though Deucalion was the biggest idiot on this hemisphere aside from Scott, who actually surprised him with his ability to breathe and walk at the same time. Scott, his single largest screw up in his short reign as Alpha. Deucalion seemed to know when Allison and Derek were both gone, signaling Peter with a short howl to let him know that he was there. Peter would traipse out into the woods and pretend to be buying all of Deucalion's rhetoric. Peter just wanted to know the Alpha pack's end game. He had no interest in hearing Deucalion whine about how the twins were always out of line and how Kali seemed to try to exert her dominance over him at every pack meeting. Peter wanted information: Where were they meeting? How often did they meet? And most importantly, how many of them were there? Deucalion seemed sketchy with those details but Peter was nothing if not patient. So, he inquired after the twins, asked how Deucalion was dealing with Kali's rebelliousness, and tried to worm some answers to his other questions out of the other werewolf without being overtly obvious. 

Peter remembered his first encounter with Deucalion, about twenty years earlier. Deucalion's pack at the time had threatened the Adams pack that lived in the eastern forests of Oregon. The Adams had some affiliation with the Hales so Peter and Derek's father had traveled up to help them. Deucalion had talked a big game but Peter and Derek's father, Daniel, had taken out most of his pack before he'd even gotten close to the Adams's pack home. Deucalion and two of his Betas were left when Deucalion decided the better choice would be to flee. Peter had cornered him and his two Betas. Rather than fight, he'd sent his Betas to deal with Peter and ran as fast as he could. By the time Peter had killed the two Betas, Deucalion was nowhere to be found. Peter and Daniel couldn't even find a trace of his scent. Peter had asked him about that, the scent masking, and he just made a vague motion with his hands and said, “You know, a witch owed me, magic spell, blah blah. Very boring story, I assure you,” and continued on talking about the mess the twins had made with their latest conquest. Peter's eyes glazed over as he continued to feign interest.

“Why are you here, Duke?” asked Peter. “Yes, yes, you're all beefed up, Alpha power and all, but really, what could you possibly want here? Killing Derek and a couple of wayward pups for what, this tiny town? I know he's not a threat to you and neither are any of them.”

Deucalion's eyes flashed red. “I see. Our conversation is at an end, Peter.” Deucalion stood up and turned his back on Peter, a clear sign of disrespect. Peter laughed. 

“Are you running away again, Duke? I'm surprised your eyes aren't yellow,” he snickered. 

Deucalion turned around and hissed at him, “It's not in my best interest to kill you right now, Peter. That's not to say it's not in the plans but I'd sleep with one eye open, if I were you. You've pissed off Anapa with your resurrection and it weighs heavy. You'd be surprised what your head is worth these days. Derek and his pack? Just a speed bump, Peter. Think on that.” With that, he disappeared into the shadows surrounding the Hale home, leaving Peter alone with his thoughts.

 

Allison

“Bye, Dad,” Allison hugged her father as she was getting ready to leave. She'd been stopping by regularly to check in with him. After staying with Derek for a month, she'd kept her promise and checked in with her father. After that she'd stopped by at least once a week to check in on him. He was lonely without her mother but Allison still thought being away from him was the best for her. Derek and Peter were training her and she was getting faster and more skilled with knives and a small sword that Peter had given her. 

“Bye, sweetheart. I'm still not happy about this arrangement but you seem to be doing well, all things considered.” Chris Argent gave her a firm squeeze and then ended the hug. 

“I'm still training, Dad. I'm still seeing you and I'm still going to school. I haven't broken any of my promises to you. This just hurts less. I love you. That hasn't changed. I just can't handle the secrets and lies,” she said to him, shaking her head slowly.

“And you think Derek doesn't have any secrets? Hasn't told you any lies?” Chris asked seriously.

“Are we really doing this, Dad? I've got to go.” Allison left quickly, getting into her car and heading back to her new home. She and Chris had agreed to not talk about Derek or Scott because they both knew they couldn't be civil about those topics. And now he was bringing up Derek. Allison didn't want to spend her night defending Derek. He'd taken her in, no questions asked. He deserved for her to stand up for him at least. Better she just ignored her father and kept on neutral territory with him. 

She pulled up to the Hale house where it was pitch black. Derek wasn't usually home but Peter always left a light on for her. Strange. She took out her sword and sheath out of her backpack and slowly removed the sword. She knew that if something was there, it would have heard her pulling up to the house but she didn't want to tip it off that she was armed. She got out of the car and after looking around, grabbed the rest of her things from the passenger side. She kept the sword behind her back and walked up to the house at a quick pace. No need to alert it just yet. 

“Hey, Peter, I'm home,” she said quietly. Nothing. Allison went around the side of the house, trying to avoid the dry leaves to be as silent as she could. She felt as if something was watching her. Her heart was racing, sounding thunder in her ears. She tried to hold her breath, to be as quiet as she was able when she peeked around the corner to the rear of the house. All she could make out in the dark were the vague shapes of the charred wood. A slight wind ruffled the leaves around her feet and she jumped. She snuck into the remains of the house from the rear, knowing that if she could get to the basement area, she could at least lock her in. It was designed to be werewolf proof so they couldn't escape but it would work just as well in reverse. She heard a noise from behind and jumped soundlessly over the remains of a burned up couch, crouching and spinning on her heel, sword at the ready. Her eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness and she could make out a shadow in the kitchen. She forced herself to remain perfectly still, heart thudding in her ears. The shadow moved slightly and her eyes widened. That was no werewolf. She couldn't see any eyes but she knew a wolf's eyes would glow. She heard the rustle of cloth and the shadow came forward into the living room, close to her hiding spot. 

“I just saw her go around the side of the house,” the shadow whispered. “We did what we needed to do. We've got to hurry up and get out of here.” 

Allison didn't move. She didn't know how many there were so she stayed hidden and watched them leave quietly by the front door. She counted only two, and their heads were large and misshapen. The robes they wore hid their body shapes so she couldn't tell their genders. She knew one was male, just from his voice. The other? No idea. The one following shut the door softly behind and she heard their footsteps on the stairs and then silence. Allison didn't move for a long time. She hadn't heard the sound of a car so she wasn't sure if they were gone or tricking her.

Suddenly she was pulled back and a hand was over her mouth. “Shhhhh – Nod your head if I can move my hand without you screaming.”

Allison nodded, recognizing Peter's voice. “We've had visitors, haven't we?” he asked as he released her and stepped back, sniffing the air. “Oh, they're long gone,” he said when he saw the look on her face. “Any idea who they were?”

“None, except they had really big heads and they were wearing dresses or robes. I couldn't tell in the dark,” she answered. 

“Large heads. Maybe like a mask?” Peter inquired, still sniffing. 

“I didn't think of that but that's probably it. Their eyes didn't glow and they didn't see where I was hiding so I don't think they could see in the dark. Of course, maybe they did see me but didn't want me to know. I'm not sure,” she said.

Peter walked into the kitchen and flicked on the light. On the table was a small scale, one side flat against the table with a bloody heart on it, the other side up with a feather. There were symbols carved into the surface of the table and the blood from the heart was starting to drip over the edge. “Allison, be a dear and see if you can tell me if this means anything to you?” said Peter, walking over to the table.

Allison walked in and looked at the surreal scene. “I have no idea,” she said. “I mean, looking at the symbols I can tell that's a bird and the one on the end looks like a dog sitting on his dog house. Maybe he's trying to catch the bird?”

“I think usually cats are the ones trying to catch birds,” Peter said thoughtfully. “We need to let nephew dearest in on this one. He's not going to be happy someone was wandering around his morbid den.”

Allison went back into the living room and dug her phone out of her backpack. She dialed Derek and it went right to voice mail. She hung up and her phone started to ring. “Allison,” gasped Derek, “they took Stiles.”

“Derek, what's wrong? Who took Stiles?” she asked.

“Victoria and Gerard did, Allison. They came to the door and pointed a gun at Stiles. I don't know where they went,” he choked out. 

“That's not possible. My mom is dead. This isn't funny, Derek,” Allison said, anger rising.

“He's telling the truth, Allison, or he thinks he is,” said Peter from behind her. “I'd be able to tell if he were lying.” 

“We're on our way. Where are you now?” she asked.

“We're headed to Deaton's now. I don't know where else to go to get answers. They have no scents, Allison. Nothing. It's like they vanished. If I hadn't seen them, I wouldn't have believed it myself. I broke Gerard's neck. You don't get back up from something like that,” Derek whispered the last part. “Will you call the Sheriff, let him know that Stiles was taken? I told him I'd protect Stiles and I didn't. I have to get him back.” 

“I'll call him and Peter and I will meet you at the vet's,” Allison said and hung up. “Peter, we need to get to Deaton's. If any one will know anything, he will.” Allison went back into the kitchen and used her phone to take a picture of the symbols and the scale. They could ask Stiles to find out more information about it when they got him back. Allison and Peter left the house and got into her car. If you'd asked her three months ago if she'd willingly get into a car with Peter alone she would have told you no. Now she was beginning to trust him. She drove as quickly as she could to Deaton's while Peter called the Sheriff to tell him that Stiles had been kidnapped.

“He's what?!” Allison heard the Sheriff yell through the phone.

“He's been kidnapped, sir,” Peter said as respectfully as Allison had ever heard him speak even though he could rip the Sheriff's throat out in a second. 

“I told him to stay in the house! Where are you? I'm coming right now. Why did he leave the house?” The Sheriff was getting hysterical.

“Sir, he didn't leave the house. They walked up to the front door and had a gun pointed at him. We're going to Deaton's. Derek said they had no scent and that sounds like magic. Hopefully he'll have some answers for us,” said Peter, trying to answer all of the Sheriff's questions. “I have to go. We'll be there in five minutes.” Peter hung up. “I don't like talking to humans when they're going crazy,” he said when Allison gave him a strange look.

She shrugged. “You'll have to deal with him when we get to Deaton's.”

“No I won't. Derek will. He was there and he made the promise to the Sheriff to protect Stiles. That's part of why he's allowed to go to the Stilinksi's in the first place. Stiles is always getting mixed up in things he shouldn't. Trouble follows that boy,” said Peter. “I have a strong suspicion this is connected to the vandalizing of our home, however.”

 

Derek's Camaro was already parked when Allison and Peter pulled up at the vet's. The closed sign was up but the door was open so they let themselves in. They could hear talking in the back when Deaton walked out to the reception area. “Are you going to behave tonight, Peter?” he asked with an amused smile. 

“Don't I always, Doc?” he responded and smiled back.

Deaton opened up the mountain ash gate to allow Peter to pass and said hello to Allison. 'Always polite, even in a crisis,' thought Allison as she walked by him. Gabriel was in the back room with Derek, looking small and frightened. He was holding onto Derek's waist while Derek was turning the pages of an ancient book. 

“That looks like the symbols on the table,” Allison exclaimed.

“What table? What are you talking about,” Deaton asked.

“Something broke into our house, Derek,” said Peter, “and left us a scale with a heart and a feather and carved some symbols into the kitchen table. And I liked that table.”

Allison pulled out her phone. “Does this mean anything to you, Deaton?” she asked as she showed him the picture she'd taken of the symbols.”

“I can definitely identify the script but I'd need some time to figure out the meaning,” he said. “Can you e-mail that to me so I can print it out larger? I'll need to get a few books, as well. The scale is interesting.” 

“Take this book,” said Derek, “I can't read any of it. Does the scale symbolize justice? Where's the lady with the blindfold?” 

“Not justice, not like you're thinking, Derek,” responded Dr. Deaton. “I'll need to head back to my house to get some things. You are all welcome to stay here as long as you need, but I think it would be better for Gabriel if he were back at the Sheriff's house.

Sheriff Stilinski came barreling into the room. “Where's my son?” he shouted at Derek.

“Sir, they came to your door with a gun. I couldn't risk Stiles or Gabriel getting hurt,” Derek answered. 

“No, I guess you couldn't.” Andy was going into Sheriff mode in front of them. He steeled himself and stood up. “Tell me everything, starting with who took my boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Beta. Sorry for the delay. Silly holidays and travel.


	5. Ambush

Gerard had forced a black hood over Stiles’s head once they’d hand cuffed him and shoved him into the small green Honda Civic parked along the sidewalk in front of his home. Stiles noted that the back windows were darkly tinted. Victoria had kept her gun trained on Stiles the entire time, watching the front of the house to make sure that she could see all of the werewolves. Derek and Isaac were standing on the white washed porch, just staring. They knew they’d never be able to reach Stiles before she shot him. Stiles knew that they wanted him alive, at least for now, but he couldn’t risk yelling that to Derek or Isaac. He didn’t want either of them to be shot. Victoria walked around the front of the car and Gerard got into the passenger side. And then strangely Stiles had felt one of them buckle him in. 

Stiles heard a strange chanting in the front seat, started by Victoria and then Gerard’s voice joined in. The humming lasted a couple of minutes and Stiles could feel the temperature drop. Then silence. A strong floral smell filled the car and he could feel his eyes water with the strength of it. Keys were inserted into the ignition and the car started up. He felt the car move forward and then felt when they turned on the road leading out of his neighborhood and then onto the freeway. Stiles’s mind was racing. Allison told him that her mother was dead. He knew that Gerard was dead; he’d seen Derek snap his neck, heard it, watched as Gerard slumped onto the concrete floor, not moving, not breathing. He hadn’t actually checked his pulse but come on, you don’t get back up from something like that. Not ever. The drive continued in silence, neither Victoria nor Gerard saying a word. The humming of the engine was lulling Stiles to sleep. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the car but it felt like they’d been driving for hours. His head leaned toward the window, trying to get comfortable. He fell asleep, figuring that he wasn’t sure if he’d have to opportunity to sleep later when they arrived wherever they were headed.

The little car stopped suddenly and Stiles lurched forward, forehead slamming into the passenger side head rest, seat belt pushing into his stomach forcing an ‘oomph’ from his mouth. Stiles felt groggy and reached up to check his forehead when he remembered he had a hood on. “Are we there yet?” Stiles muttered, voice gravelly from sleep.

He was answered only by the sound of the door opening and a grip on his bicep yanking him from the car. He fell down, losing his footing on what felt like leaves and dirt. He was roughly pulled up and mostly dragged while he floundered, trying to stay upright. Suddenly he was stopped and the grip on his arm released. He heard the sound of a lock opening and he was being moved forward again. “Watch the stairs, Mr. Stilinski,” grunted Gerard as he led him to what felt like a cement walk way. Stiles stepped forward warily, finding the first stair and gingerly making his way down into the cool air. He stepped off the last step, almost falling before he realized there were no more stairs. He managed to stay upright and head the sound of a heavy door dropping and the click of the lock being fastened. “Great. Really!?” he shouted at no one. He had no idea where he was but the rich coppery smell of blood and rotted meat filled his nostrils and he almost gagged. He was afraid to move, to step into anything that would require years with a therapist but he couldn’t just stand at the bottom of the stairs. He moved to his left, finding a wall and felt around. He felt nothing wet nor gooey so he slumped down and sat against the wall, knee twitching. “The story of my life,” Stiles whispered, his ears still humming from the long car ride. 

“This may be the last chapter,” spoke a voice to his left and he felt the hood being softly removed, “but ultimately it’s not up to you.” Stiles squinted in the light, eyes trying to accommodate for its brightness. He could just make out the outline of a hulking figure with the hood in his hand. Across the room, wrists chained to a rafter, skin hanging in strips from his chest, blood pouring out of his stomach with intestines bulging out, was Scott, staring at Stiles, eyes glowing red.

Stiles looked at the silhouette in front of him. “Derek’s going to kick your ass when he finds you,” he said quietly. 

“Oh, we’re counting on him finding you, eventually,” came the response and the Stiles felt the sting of a needle in his arm. That was the last thing he remembered as he slumped down onto the ground.

 

“What I don’t understand,” continued the Sheriff, “is why you all can’t track Stiles down? I would think that you could tell which scent is his after all this time.”

“Sir, I’m not sure what happened. I can still smell Stiles from the house to the car and then all I can smell is some sort of flowery smell, like perfume or something. Even that scent doesn’t last past where the car was parked. I tried to follow the car on foot and all I know is that they got onto the freeway headed south.” Derek sounded irritated and confused. He should have been able to find Stiles anywhere, just by the sound of his heart beat. “I couldn’t even hear the car engine when it drove away. Something is not right here.”

Derek crossed his arms across his chest. He’d been over this a hundred times in his mind and he knew he was missing a vital piece of information. His senses had never failed him before. Isaac wasn’t able to detect Stiles either so the problem wasn’t them. That meant that Victoria or Gerard had done something mumbo jumbo to mask themselves, to camouflage their car in someway. Derek hated magic. It made no sense to him. “Shit,” he growled out, feeling useless. 

“I’ll call Deaton, see if he’s gotten anything,” Andy seemed to think out loud. “Derek, get Gabriel back to the house to stay with Isaac. We don’t know what’s going on but I want him far away from it. I don’t want him out of Isaac’s sight, no matter what.”

Gabriel hadn’t let go of Derek since they’d arrived at the vet’s. He was a wreck knowing that Stiles had been taken. Derek wasn’t sure if he’d let him go even when they arrived at the Sheriff’s house. There was no way he could stay there though, not knowing that Stiles was out there and needed him. 

The Sheriff looked at Derek, seemed to hesitate. “Derek, have you talked to Stiles yet? Have you told him about… you know?”

“No, sir. The time hasn’t been right. I’m not sure if I can have that talk with him,” Derek answered, looking down as if examining his shoes.

Andy put his hand on Derek’s arm and his face softened. “After we get my son back, you’ll make the time and you’ll have the talk. He needs to hear it from you.” The Sheriff turned and left the vet’s office. 

Derek thought about what the Sheriff had said to him while he drove Gabriel back to his home. He would make the time to talk with Stiles, no matter how awkward it was going to be. He deserved to know and he could make his own decision.

Isaac was on the front porch when they arrived and Gabriel let Derek go to be with Isaac. “Please get Stiles back for me,” he said, tears in his eyes. Derek nodded once and got back into the car. 

He was going to go to Chris Argent’s to hopefully get some answers. The problem was that Derek couldn’t figure out why they’d taken Stiles. It just didn’t make sense. Stiles hadn’t done anything that Derek knew of so was it just a kidnapping of convenience? He knew the Argents didn’t need money and the Sheriff had nothing that they could want. That meant they either knew something that Derek thought only he and Andy knew or Stiles just was unlucky. Maybe they wanted to exchange him for someone else? These thoughts dominated Derek’s mind on the drive over to Allison’s father’s home. 

Chris was home when Derek knocked on the door.

“Derek, now is not a good time,” he spoke calmly and did not move to allow the werewolf in.

“Your wife and father kidnapped Stiles. I’d say it’s a great time,” growled Derek as he pushed past Chris into the living room. He sat down on the white couch and put his feet up on the glass table. “You told your own daughter that her mother was dead. That’s pretty low, even for a Hunter.”

The look on Chris’s face couldn’t be faked. “She’s alive?” he whispered. “No, I killed her. I pushed the knife through her chest, heard her take her last breath. She’s dead. What you saw is not my wife.” He looked torn, suddenly much older.

“She’s not dead. She held a gun to Stiles’s face. She smelled like your wife. Nothing can do that, Chris. Not that I know of.” Derek looked for any signs of deceit and saw nothing. Chris believed what he was saying, Derek was sure of it. “How is this possible and what do you know about this?” Derek showed Chris the photos Allison had taken of the carvings in the table and the scale with the heart and the feather.

Chris paled. “How much do you know about the history of the Hunters, Derek?” Chris started to pace back and forth behind the couch opposite Derek. 

“I know you have a code. I know some of you follow it, and some don’t, like Gerard. I know that I can’t live my life in peace because of you and your family,” Derek shrugged. 

“There’s a lot more to it. What do you know about Anubis?”

“Who?” Derek asked? “What does this have to do with anything? We need to find Stiles, not talk about your family history.”

“It’s got to be connected. Gerard back. Victoria back. It’s not a coincidence. The first written records of Hunters go all the way back to Egypt, Derek. Over 3,000 years ago we protected the tombs of the Pharaohs from your kind. We worshipped Anubis who would weigh the soul of a man before allowing him into the afterlife. A heart and a feather on the Scales of Truth. That’s his name written there on your table in hieroglyphics. If he denied my wife and father the afterlife, they could be back. He’d have the power to do that. We haven’t worshipped him in generations but there are Hunters out there who do. Hell, maybe my father and Victoria did. He always held back from telling me things, said I was crippled by the code,” Chris trailed off, lost in thought. 

“So you’re telling me that you think an Egyptian god resurrected your wife and father?” Derek stood up. “You’re certifiable, Chris. Maybe Gerard healed after I broke his neck. Maybe you didn’t do such a hot job killing your wife.”

“You don’t get to say that, Derek.” Chris was suddenly standing in front of him. “I’m not saying Anubis resurrected any one. I’m saying that he denied them the afterlife. It’s not unheard of in our legends. There are spells, supplications to the old gods for favors. The cost though, would be high. We’re talking blood sacrifice stuff. Where do you think that heart came from, the one on the scale in your home? Willing donor? Doubtful. We track down that heart, we get answers.” Chris strode to the front door. “I’m going to talk to a few people, some of the ones who still worship.” He left Derek standing in the living room.

 

Derek left a few minutes later. He drove to the Hale home and went into the kitchen. Peter was in the house; he could hear his heartbeat. “Peter, come down here,” Derek bellowed. Peter padded down the stairs and entered the kitchen. 

“I’d have cleaned up the mess if I’d known you were coming over, nephew,” he quipped. He hadn’t touched the scale, or the heart. 

“We need to know where this came from,” Derek pointed to the heart. 

“The slight problem of people masking themselves isn’t going to deter you, is it, Matlock,” Peter snarked. “I tried yesterday. Nothing. No odor. Not even their footprints hold scent. This is magic, nephew, and old. Not much can hide from one of us.”

“What do you know about Anubis?” Derek asked.

Peter growled low in his throat. “What about him?”

Derek glared at his uncle, eyes flashing red. “Do not growl at me. You know something. What. Is. It.”

“The followers of Anubis never did play nicely with us. We used to be a little less, well, civilized back then. And if our ancestors had a taste for royals? What of it? So they beefed up the security back then, put Hunters outside of the tombs. They never really were after the bodies, I mean, no one wants to eat something that’s wrapped up and not fighting back.. They took out all the good stuff anyway. Now the grieving slaves they locked up with their Pharaoh, still alive? Easy prey. Especially for an Omega who couldn’t hunt with a pack.” Peter leaned up against the wall. “I don’t know if I believe in Anubis, per say, but there is magic out there that could bring them back, if they found someone skilled enough to do it. Necromancy is dark, I should know. I made certain deals, however. My plans were made before my early retirement from life. I didn’t expect it to be so soon, but I was prepared for it.”

Derek’s phone rang and damn it all, that was not the ring tone Derek chose. The opening lines from “I’m A Werewolf, Baby” from Tragically Hip started playing. Derek shook his head. He didn’t even know when Stiles had stolen his phone and changed that. He hit the talk button. It was the Sheriff.

“Derek, are you there?” Andy asked.

“Yes, sir. I’m staring at a heart sitting on my table and trying to figure out what it has to do with Stiles being kidnapped. Or if it has anything to do with that at all.” He flung the brittle wooden chair at the table across the room, where it shattered. 

“Did you say a heart on your table?” Derek could hear the Sheriff shuffling through some papers. “The reason I had to leave was because two bodies were found. Both of them had their hearts ripped out, along with most of their other major organs.”

“Yes, sir, a human heart on a scale sitting on my table.” Derek knew how ludicrous it sounded but there was no way to not sound dramatic saying that. He couldn’t believe it and he was looking at it.

“I need to come look at that. You haven’t touched it, have you? Disturbed anything there? We could find evidence,” said Andy, in full Sheriff mode.

“It hasn’t been touched. I’m not sure how I feel about a bunch of people trampling through my home, though,” Derek envisioned the entire police force searching every inch of his home. The thought made him feel territorial and he could feel his claws emerging. 

“I’ll be there, a photographer and a forensic guy I trust. We will only look at the area you found it and their path of entry and egress. I’ve got to find Stiles and this is our only lead right now,” Andy spoke quietly into the phone. 

“We, sir,” answered Derek. “We need to find Stiles. You’re not alone. Stiles was taken and I should have stopped it.”

“This isn’t your fault. If you would have tried, he would have been shot. I know that, Derek. We will find him and if something’s happened to him, there will be bodies.” The Sheriff sounded grim. “We’ll be over shortly. You do what you can, Derek. Whatever it takes.” He hung up.

“Interesting,” Peter mused. “I’ll take that as a carte blanche. I have a few things I can look into, nephew. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Funny how now you’re interested in all this, Peter,” Derek said, looking directly at his uncle. “What’s your angle?”

“You think I don’t know what he is to you, Derek? Really? This affects you and therefore me. Your feelings are bleeding all over and the stains are going to be a bitch to remove so let’s just go rescue your damsel Stiles and then I won’t have to worry about it, eh?” With that, Peter walked upstairs, presumably to make phone calls.

Derek stared after him, mouth hanging open. He’d talked to the Sheriff about it only because he felt he needed to know and to understand why he trusted them and needed them to keep Gabriel. He hadn’t spoken about it with any one else, especially not Stiles. He didn’t want to put any pressure on Stiles. The Sheriff, however, knew more about werewolves than he let on. He understood packs and pack dynamics. He was also a lot smarter than Stiles gave him credit for. Derek wanted everything out in the open with him. 

Derek heard Allison’s car pull up onto the long road that led to the Hale property. And then it hit him. Allison knew Danny. Danny had been able to track down the origin of a phone call. What else could he do? Derek tried not to let himself get excited. He knew that Stiles had his cell phone in his pocket. Any smart kidnapper would have taken it immediately and ditched it; however, Victoria and Gerard had seemed a little bit out of it, talking in clipped voices. He ran out of the house and leaped over the porch railing to catch Allison at her car. “Allison, can you call Danny? Stiles had his phone with him. Can Danny do anything with that, find him some how?” Derek ran his hands through his dark hair, causing it to stand up in disarrayed spikes.

“I can call him, ask him. I’m not sure what he can do. You might want to calm down a little bit, Derek. You’re looking a little out of sorts.” Allison reached out her hand and rested it on Derek’s wrist before she groped into her purse and pulled out her phone, ready to dial Danny. Derek looked down at her wrist, surprised. Allison noticed his look and released him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“No, it’s okay. Thank you. Thank you for caring.” Derek blushed, looking at her chin, avoiding her eyes. “I need to get him back, I was supposed to take care of him. I promised his father I would and he’s gone.”

“I understand, Derek.” Allison called Danny. “Danny, it’s Allison.”

“I know. Miraculous invention, caller ID. What’s up? Why are you calling me?” he asked, resigned. He knew there was no reason for Allison to call him unless she needed something.

“Umm,” she hesitated, “maybe you could locate a cell phone for us?” Her voice squeaked.

“So I’m your go-to guy for illegal activities now, too?” Danny was angry. “Stiles tricked me last time, pimping out his cousin, Miguel, who I’m pretty sure isn’t his cousin since Miguel is hot and Stiles not so much” – did Allison just hear Derek growl? – “but I had my records sealed since I was a minor. Do you know what will happen if I get caught doing this? This is federal, Allison. Big trouble. Do. You. Understand? Jail time.”

“Yeah, but all the guys in there, Danny,” Allison joked, voice breaking.

“Really? A gay prison joke? From you? That’s great, Allison. You know what, I don’t need this,” Danny muttered. 

Derek grabbed the phone from Allison. “Danny, it’s Miguel. Please, please help us. Stiles is missing. He was taken from us this afternoon and we don’t know where he is. If you could help us just a little with this it could mean the difference between getting him back alive or not at all.” He was pleading with someone he barely knew. This was not normal behavior for Derek. Allison was looking at him, understanding dawning in her eyes. Did the great Derek Hale have a thing for Stiles? Allison couldn’t believe it, but then, who was she to decide who he could crush on? Her love life wasn’t exactly perfect. She stopped to think about it, though. Stiles. Loyal to a fault. Very very intelligent, scarily so when he focused. He was awkward but he’d grow out of it, and if he didn’t? It could be part of his charm, she supposed. 

“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” she heard Derek say into the phone as he was digging in his pocket for his keys. He hung up the phone and handed it to her wordlessly.

“So, you and Stiles, huh? How long has this been a thing,” she asked, following him to the Camaro.

“There is no thing,” he grunted.

“There is so a thing and thank you for that non answer,” she responded, nonplussed.

“I made a promise to the Sheriff to keep Stiles safe. That’s what this is.”

“Sure, Derek, that’s all it is. Do I need to get Lydia or will you talk to me without coercion?” She winked and Derek could feel his face heat up. “I think it’s cute, really!”

“I do not want you to ever refer to me or anything I do as ‘cute’ if you can possibly refrain yourself. Stiles is… complicated for me. And he’s not interested. And he’s sixteen. And he loves Lydia. And he has his entire future ahead of him that can’t include me. So, right now, there is nothing. And it needs to stay that way.” Derek looked forward as he drove toward Danny’s and Allison knew that the conversation was over. She knew that Derek was putting Stiles’s needs above his own but she didn’t think he actually knew what Stiles’s needs were, only his idea of those needs. She was going to talk to Lydia about this. She would know what to do with Mr. Depressed. 

They drove in silence and arrived at Danny’s faster than strictly legal. He was sitting on the porch with his lap top out, typing furiously. Derek walked out of the car and up to Danny, hand out. Danny stood up and took his hand to shake it. “My name is Derek, not Miguel, and thank you for agreeing to do this.” He could smell Danny’s arousal but it was secondary to his concern.

“What happened to Stiles? What kind of trouble is he in?” Danny asked as he let go of Derek’s hand and sat back down to continue his hacking. “Oh, and I know your name. I sort of looked you up after we met at Stiles’s house. Sorry for the creepy stalker in me. I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”

“Don’t tell me you have a crush on Stiles, too?” Allison asked before she could help herself. 

Derek glared at her. She glared back.

“Too, like, who else do I have a crush on,” Danny responded, completely missing the interaction between Derek and Allison. “And no, I don’t have a crush on Stiles. He’s on my team. He’s a bro, that’s it. I don’t have a crush on every guy I meet, Allison.” He snuck a glance at Derek and then looked back down to his screen.

“Ah,” she said, catching his look, “Just tall, dark, and brooding guys, I see.” 

Danny’s face turned red. “I think I have something here. What the hell is he doing up there?”

“Up where, Danny? What did you find?” Derek dropped down next to Danny and was leaning against his shoulder trying to see the small monitor. 

“His phone is about 4 hours north of here but it’s not in a city. It look like he’s in the forest somewhere.” Danny pulled up GoogleEarth and zoomed down. All they could see were trees. “That’s as close as I can get it.”

“That’ll have to be enough.” Derek pulled out his phone and called the Sheriff. “Sir, we might know where Stiles is.”

“We tracked the car on the traffic cameras all the way up the highway. They disappeared between two of the cameras so I know which exit they took, Derek.” The Sheriff told him the exit. Derek looked back to Danny’s computer screen.

“That’s the same as what we have here. I’m going there now.” Derek hung up the phone. “Allison, will you stay here with Danny?”

She stared at him. “Are you kidding? I’m going with you.” 

Danny stood up. “And so am I.”

“I am not taking two kids into this. Who knows what we’ll find? Also, what we do know is dangerous enough.” Derek crossed his arms, daring them to contradict him.

“C’mon, Danny, I’ll sit in the back. I’m not sure you’ll fit.” Allison pulled Danny along after her to get into the car as she ignored Derek’s glowering stare. 

“You know what? If you both die, it’s not on me.” He walked around and got into the driver’s seat.

“You’re cool enough to come to me for help that will land me in prison but then when I’m willing to help more you want to shut me down? You need to figure things out, dude,” Danny said as he buckled his seatbelt. “How about a little less attitude and a little more driving? Stiles is a trouble magnet so the sooner we get him out of whatever he’s gotten himself into, the better.”

Derek saw Allison smile at him in the mirror and he grunted. He had nothing left to say. He peeled out, headed to the freeway. He was going to get Stiles and if they’d done anything to him, Derek wouldn’t be responsible for what happened.

 

“Deucalion, Deucalion. What ever are we going to do with you?” Peter decided that he had gotten all of the information from Deucalion that he’d wanted and now was time for revenge. He’d called him immediately after speaking with Derek, fairly certain that Deucalion was responsible for Stiles’s kidnapping. No one else would dare. He called on the pretense of catching up some more on their past and when he’d shown, quickly stabbed him in the kidney with a silver knife, effectively immobilizing the surprised Alpha. He was then quickly trussed up in the basement with silver chains. Peter paced, knowing exactly how to extract information out of the coward. Deucalion had earned his place not by battle, but by wits. He was still no match for Peter’s deviousness. 

“Why Stiles? Why not Isaac, or Scott?” Peter asked. 

“We have Scott. No one came for him. We’ve been watching Derek for awhile now and he keeps going to that boy’s house. We figured that might be better bait,” Deucalion grunted. Peter hadn’t been shy with the baseball bat and as his bruises healed, Peter would swing it forcefully just to make new ones. 

“That bait might get you all killed. Well, the rest of your pack. I’ll take care of you myself,” Peter grinned widely. “Where did you take him?”

“Do you really think I’ll answer that?”

CRACK! CRACK!

Deucalion screamed. Peter had just broken both of his kneecaps. 

“We’ve got all night. I wonder what you want to tell me now?” Peter eyed Deucalion’s groin. “I know far more sensitive spots.”

“I’ll heal.”

“It’ll still hurt, quite a bit, I’d think.”

“You’re not giving me the incentive, Peter. That’s usually how this works. Dangling carrot and all that.”

“Hmm – Well, what is it that you want? A head start? I can give you that.” Peter hefted the bat, ready to swing again.

“What specifically do you want to know?” Deucalion was sweating. Peter had been doing this for hours.

“Where is Stiles? I don’t particularly care about Scott, although he could be considered my child. He’s not very much for loyalty, though,” Peter mused. 

“You seem to care about this boy a little too much,” Deucalion hissed. “I have no interest in telling you where he is.”

“That little boy knows a little too much about us. He needs to be contained and who knows what he’ll tell you and your band of thugs?” THWAK! Peter slammed the bat into his ribs and heard a satisfying crunch as a few of them broke.

“I don’t know where they took him. This is a waste of your time,” Deucalion wheezed out. Peter detected no lie. Maybe Deucalion didn’t know where they’d taken Stiles. Maybe Deucalion was a bit lower on the chain of command than he’d assumed.

“Let’s just say I believe you, Dukey. Why wouldn’t you know?” Peter asked as if they were best friends.

Deucalion looked at him as if he were stupid. “You don’t think a situation like this might explain that? We’re all kept separate and each one of us is given different instructions. That way if one of us is caught, the rest aren’t. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one here.”

“No, I’m not. I’m just the one with the bat.” Peter slammed the bat into Deucalion’s head, knocking him out. He had considered killing him but his time as an Alpha didn’t go the way he’d wanted it to. He wasn’t sure that was in the plan for him. 

 

Isaac had been trying to entertain Gabriel, to keep his mind off of everything but Gabriel was having none of it. “Isaac,” he whined, “where is Stiles? Why hasn’t Derek brought him back yet?”

“They’re working on it,” he answered and he cleaned up the Monopoly game he’d tried to distract him with. They’d tried the television, Netflix, and now Monopoly but just as soon as they’d start, Gabriel would start asking questions. He couldn’t sit still and Isaac could smell his anxiety. It probably didn’t help that Isaac was anxious as well. Derek had been gone for hours and he couldn’t answer Gabriel’s questions because he didn’t know the answers. 

“Call him, Isaac. Find out if they have Stiles yet, please?” Gabriel was holding onto Isaac’s wrist, looking earnestly at him and be damned, with puppy eyes. Isaac’s willpower was fading quickly. 

“Derek will call as soon as they have Stiles, Gabe. I can’t bug him right now.” Isaac pulled Gabriel over to the couch and sat down, turning the television back on. 

“Please call Derek. Just make sure he’s okay?” Gabriel handed Isaac’s phone to him from where he’d left it on the end table.

“Okay, okay, but this is going to be a quick call.” He called Derek’s phone and Allison answered. 

“Are you okay? Is Gabriel okay?” she said quickly.

“We’re both fine. Gabriel is worried about Derek. Have you guys found Stiles yet?” Isaac held the phone back when Gabriel tried to reach for it.

“We’re about forty five minutes from the exit. Danny traced his phone –“

“Stop telling everyone what I did, Allison! Secrets!” Isaac heard Danny yell in the background.

“- and we’re hoping that’s where they’ve taken Stiles. We’re going to do everything we can to get him back,” she continued. 

Isaac put his hand over the phone’s speaker, “Did you hear all of that, Gabe?”

“Yeah, can you talk to Derek though? I want to hear his voice,” he pleaded.

“Allison, can you put Derek on?” Isaac heard the phone exchange hands.

“I’m here, Isaac. How is Gabriel?” Isaac handed the phone to Gabriel.

Gabriel sighed in relief. “Derek, are you okay?”

“Yes, Gabe. Are you? Is Isaac taking good care of you?” he asked, knowing that Isaac would protect Gabriel with his life but not sure if he was a good baby sitter.

“Yeah, we’re just watching television right now, Dr. Sexy, M.D. I love this show but I don’t want to watch episodes I haven’t seen yet without Stiles.” Derek could tell through the phone how sad Gabriel was without Stiles. How attached he’d become.

“Gabriel, we are going to get Stiles. I promise you. I will bring him back to you, no matter what,” Derek vowed. “You be good for Isaac and do what he tells you. We’ll be back, with Stiles, as soon as we can,” Derek paused. “I love you, you know that, right?”

Gabriel handed the phone back to Isaac without responding. He settled back onto couch, picked up the remote and changed the channel to a random sports game. He curled up into himself and closed his eyes to the cheering on the television.

“Derek, I’ll take care of him,” Isaac spoke into the phone. 

“I know you will. I have to go now. I’m turning off my phone but when we’re done, one of us will call you, let you and Gabriel know that we have Stiles.” Derek hung up the phone, hoping that Isaac didn’t detect the lie. He didn’t know what they’d find out in the woods but he didn’t think it would be anything good.

 

Andy headed over to Chris Argent’s as soon as he’d gotten off of the phone with Derek. He needed information and weapons he wouldn’t have to file reports for if they had been discharged. 

While Argent didn’t have much in the way of information – “No, Sir, I don’t know what they’re up to. I thought they were both dead,” he sighed – he had plenty in the way of guns and ammo. He was especially willing to help after he’d learned that they had kidnapped Stiles from Derek earlier. Chris would do anything for Allison, even if she didn’t believe that and he knew the Sheriff would do the same for his son. Chris helped Andy load up his trunk with as much in the way of guns, knives, and ammo as he could fit. Andy thanked him and left, headed home.

He went into the house and was greeted by a tearful Gabriel, who practically climbed him to get his arms around the Sheriff’s neck. He hugged him back fiercely. “We’re going to get him back, Gabe. It’s okay,” even though it wasn’t okay. He walked into the kitchen to get his phone book with Gabriel clinging to him. “Gabe, I’ve got to make some phone calls and then I have to go. Isaac, I assume Derek left you here to take care of him?”

“Yes, Sir, and I will guard him with my life.” Isaac looked at the Sheriff, eyes glowing blue.

“I know you will, son.” Gabriel finally let go and took Isaac’s hand. 

“I spoke with Derek. They’re almost there,” Isaac let him know.

“Then hopefully we’ll be unnecessary. But if not, we’ll be there to back him up.” The Sheriff looked at Isaac and went into the living room to start making phone calls.

The Sheriff wasted no time getting officers he trusted rounded up. He knew that they were headed out of his jurisdiction so he had everyone in plain clothes and in their personal vehicles on their trip north, out of Beacon Hills. He was going to get his son. “Everyone put on your Kevlar. I don’t know what kind of trouble we’re going to find but trust me, we’ll find it. Make sure you have plenty of ammo. I don’t need to tell you the stakes here. This is my son they’ve taken. This is off the record. If any of you have a problem with that, now is the time to say something or step out. I won’t respect any of you less.”

No one stepped back. Most of these officers had known Stiles since he was a small child. The few younger volunteers had known him as the Sheriff’s pesky but loveable kid who had a million questions about everything. All of them would lay their life down for any of the Sheriff’s family without question because they knew he would do the same for them. 

The Sheriff and his small army left in a cavalcade of cars toward the freeway to rescue Stiles.

“Damn it, his phone is going to voicemail,” the Sheriff cursed. 

“Who are you trying to call, Andy?” his partner asked.

“Derek, to let him know we’re on the way. He left a lot earlier and neither of us are sure what we’re getting into. He’s probably turned his phone off.” The Sheriff pushed his car to go faster, not concerned with the speed limit. He’d called a couple of officers he knew outside of Beacon Hills and they assured him he wouldn’t be pulled over. 

A few hours later and they turned off of the small freeway exit. The blue sign at the turn off let them know NO SERVICES AVAILABLE. There was a loop to get back onto the freeway and on the other side, a small private gravel road. Derek’s Camaro was parked to the left of the road in a small dirt turn out. The car was empty. 

The Sheriff followed his lead, pulling in behind him. The other drivers did the same, all of them getting out and arming themselves; knives, guns, and extra ammo in small back packs. 

The sun was down and only a sliver of the moon lighted the way. They all spread out and started up the road as quietly as possible. They walked for about fifteen minutes in silence before they saw the small cabin. There was no sign of Derek so the Sheriff motioned with his hands for them to fan out and surround the cabin with two people to keep an eye out on the woods surrounding them. 

The cabin was an older single story wooden unit built on what looked like a cement basement. He could see movement behind the sheer curtains in the lit front room and as he got closer he could make out voices. He signaled for the people behind him to get lower to the ground. He didn’t want to risk anyone being seen, even in the dark. 

“Psssst!”

The Sheriff whipped around and could make out movement around the back corner of the house. He cautiously walked toward the shadow with his gun held in front of him with both hands. 

As he got closer, he made out Derek’s shape and the red glow of his eyes. He hurried to close the distance between them.

He followed Derek into the tree line on the far side of the house, seeing the Honda Civic that Derek told him had been the getaway car parked behind the house. 

“As soon as we got here, I could smell everything again. Something’s off with Victoria and Gerard but I can’t tell what it is. What I can tell you is that Stiles is here. Also, I’m pretty sure Scott is, too. I can smell a lot of blood – “ Andy started heading to the house before Derek grabbed his arm, pulling him back “ – but it’s not Stiles’s,” Derek sniffed again, as if to verify.

“It better not be,” the Sheriff muttered.

“Sir, there are at least two werewolves in the cellar, that I can tell.” Derek hesitated. “There’s also something else in there. I don’t know what it is. The Argents are in the cabin itself but they haven’t moved in at least an hour. I think Stiles was knocked out. His heartbeat and breathing are normal and he should be panicking in a situation like this.” Derek’s head tilted to the side, like he had heard something. The Sheriff turned around and looked at the house. He could see the cellar door reflected in the light from the cabin and suddenly it opened up, light spilling up the stairs. 

Two werewolves clambered out, partially shifted. “We’ve got company,” one yelled down the stairs as he bounded out and made room for the one behind him to do the same.

Derek heard a rough voice answer quietly, “Hale, I’m expecting you in front of me within five minutes or I’m tossing up a body.” The two werewolves snickered and glanced around. They couldn’t see Derek or the Sheriff from their hiding spot in the tree line but they could smell both of them. 

“I need to go into the cellar,” hissed out Derek. “He knows I’m here.”

“Who does? What are you talking about?” Andy questioned.

“I don’t know. He told me he’d throw a body up here if I didn’t go down there within five minutes. Go back and find Allison and Danny. They’re further in the woods in the trees. They’re both armed so call out your name so you don’t get shot.” Derek took off toward the open cellar. The Sheriff headed further into the woods, looking for Allison and Danny. 

The two werewolves who had left the cellar walked around to the front of the cabin and froze, seeing at least twenty of the Sheriff’s trusted men. They growled and leapt forward, claws out. The sound of gunfire was deafening and they were cut down mid leap, bleeding from too many holes. They fell roughly to the ground, trying to crawl forward but unable to maintain their Beta forms. They both slumped down and stopped moving. The movement in the house stopped, the lights turned off. 

The men moved forward and checked the pulses of the downed werewolves. “This one’s alive,” whispered one. Another responded, “Not this one.”

They got closer to the house, keeping an eye on the window and the door and trying to stay out of sight by being close to the ground.

The door flew open and the Argents started shooting out into the night. Fortunately, they were aiming high and all of the men were close to the ground. They started shooting, riddling the Argents will bullets. The Argents sprayed bullets up into the air before they collapsed and fell backwards into the doorway. “Go, go!” shouted Tom as he ran up to the porch and put himself to the side of the door. Two more men ran up and ducked down below the window frame on the other side, guns cocked and ready. Tom made eye contact with the men and with his gun forward, led the way into the darkened front room. 

Derek reached the top of the stairs and looked back. The Sheriff had already disappeared into the trees. Derek descended, the scent of blood threatening to overwhelm him. Stiles’s heartbeat, however, remained steady. He reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Stiles slumped over against the wall with a purple yellowish knot on his forehead. He saw Scott, hanging from a rafter in chains, bloody from torture but healing. And he saw a man in a robe with a jackal mask. But it wasn’t a man. He had a scent but it wasn’t human. He also had no heartbeat that Derek could discern.

“We have a lot to talk about,” said the mysterious man. 

“What are you?” asked Derek, sniffing.

“You’ll have to earn that information, Derek. This will take awhile so you’ll have to call off your guard dogs. They’ll all be killed any way and do you really want more deaths on you? Because they will be your fault if you don’t turn them away.”

“Let them go,” Derek motioned to Scott and Stiles. “They shouldn’t be here. They’re not involved.”

The man tilted his head. “That’s a rather large lie, don’t you think, wolf? However, they’ve served their purpose.” He gestured and the chains holding Scott turned to ash and Scott fell heavily to the floor. The impact woke him and he started to shift, growling at his captor. 

“Go now before I change my mind,” and he pointed to Scott. Scott yipped and ran for the stairs, stopping only to sniff at Stiles before he disappeared into the night.

Derek walked over to Stiles and picked him up. He started to carry him up the steps when he suddenly couldn’t move forward any more.

“Now now, Derek. You’re not leaving, only the boy.”

“Stiles, wake up,” Derek whispered, his breath causing Stiles’s eyelashes to flutter. Stiles turned into him.

“Leave me alone, give me five more minutes,” he slurred.

“I wish I could. You need to go up and find your dad.” Derek eased Stiles into a standing position and Stiles opened his eyes, remembering where he was. 

“Derek, where are we, what are you doing?” Stiles looked over to the man in the mask. “And why is creepy dog head dude staring at us?”

“Get to your dad, I’ll be right up. He and I need to talk.” Derek gently nudged him up the stairs.

Stiles didn’t move. “I’m not leaving you with him.”

“Werewolf, remember? I’ll be fine. Go find your dad. He’s been worried about you.” Derek watched Stiles walk up the stairs. 

At the top of the stairs, Stiles looked back. “Five minutes, D. Five minutes and if you’re not back up here, I’m sending my dad down.”

Derek nodded and turned away.

The cellar door slammed shut on its own and the masked man laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Beta.


	6. Getting Home

Stiles stumbled out into the darkness, eyes sensitive from the light in the cellar. He still felt groggy from the shot he was dosed with earlier and his movements were more exaggerated than normal. He could hear hushed voices coming from the front of the cabin but in the blackness, he had no choice but to try to follow the sounds. He groped around and made his way to the front, finally seeing some lights spilling from the window of the cabin’s small living room. He saw the Argents, dead on the ground and bodies riddled with holes. He saw the two werewolves he’d seen at school also shot through. His gut cramped and he tried to keep himself from spilling what little he’d eaten earlier. One of his father’s officers was standing on guard on the porch and squinted out into the darkness, raising his gun. Stiles slowly raised his arms to indicate he was not a threat. “Stiles, is that you?”

Stiles put his arms back down and sighed heavily. “Yeah, it’s me. Where’s my dad?”

Andy had found Allison and Danny and was walking around the front with them in tow. He saw Stiles and ran forward, enveloping him in a rib-cracking hug. Allison smiled at him, tears in her eyes. As soon as his father released him, she and Danny tag teamed him for some extra group huggage. Stiles felt the love but he would rather be feeling his bed. He wanted to be home and never leave his house again. This was getting old. The constant getting beat up and now kidnapped? His nice, safe room was calling him. He’d get back to WoW. Start his own raiding guild and maybe get back in with his online friends who in all reality, he had abandoned. They were right. Summer was just a few weeks away. He could finish up his finals in school and sequester himself in his room. Maybe buy that mini fridge he’d been eyeing on Amazon so then he’d really never have to leave the safety of his cozy bedroom. Allison and Danny reluctantly let him go and stepped back.

“Are you hurt, son?” inquired Andy, eyeing him. 

Stiles bit back the sarcasm, his auto defense kicking in. His dad didn’t deserve that. He was just worried about his son. Stiles would save that for the punk who drugged him. “Dad, I’m okay. They sort of tranqed me, I think.” He raised his sleeve to show the small red welt on his upper arm. It itched but didn’t hurt. 

He still was in a haze but he suddenly remembered: Derek. Where was Derek? He’d told him five minutes and he’d send his father down to get him. More than five minutes had passed. Stiles started to panic. “Dad, did you see Derek back there? He’s supposed to be out here by now.”

The Sheriff looked back into the blackness. He motioned for the guard on the porch to get the others and to follow him. Guns drawn, the small army made its way around the back of the cabin, quietly. They converged around the cellar door, flashlights pinpricks against the dark. With elaborate hand gestures they positioned themselves and Andy leaned forward to open the cellar door. The door didn’t budge. Andy banged on the door. “Derek, we’re coming down there in two minutes if you don’t open this door.” Allison had her hand on Stiles’s arm, trying to soothe him. His breathing was getting ragged and uncontrolled. He was starting to shake. 

The door pushed open and the light pulsed brightly before immediately shutting off. Stiles ran forward and was pulled back by too many hands to count. Andy stepped onto the top stair and saw two flashing red eyes at the bottom of the stairs. “Derek,” he asked hesitantly, gun drawn and pointing down the stairs, “that you?” 

The red eyes glowed for a moment longer and then dimmed down to nothing. Derek called up, “It’s just me, put the gun down. He’s gone. Is Stiles with you?”

“He’s fine. He’s right here. Now get out of there. We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do and I’d rather you and the kids here weren’t around when we did it.” Andy lowered the gun and motioned for Derek to come up the stairs. 

Derek cocked his head to the side. “I’d like nothing better, really, but I’m sort of,” he paused and back at toward his feet, “incapacitated at the moment.”

Two flashlights zoomed in and Andy could Derek holding himself up on his arms, back legs behind him useless. “I think he broke my back.” Derek collapsed on the stairs, the crunch of his teeth snapping together on the step causing Stiles to jump out of the arms holding him back and bolt down the stairs, roughly pushing his father aside. He blundered into the dark, back blocking most of the light from the flashlights and made his way to Derek’s side. He reached down and checked for a pulse. Derek’s body felt hot, which he hoped was a good sign and his pulse seemed good to Stiles. He made a mental note to look into medical training. If he was ever going to leave his room again to hang out with stupid werewolves, he’d need to know how to help fix them faster until their healing did its thing. Stiles hooked his hands under Derek’s armpits and tried to drag him up the stairs. He could hear his father’s men whispering but no one was coming down to help him and damn it if Derek’s dead weight was too much for him to lift alone. The guy must eat lead to weigh this much. 

“A little help here?” Stiles turned and squeaked up the stairs. 

“He shouldn’t be moved if his back is broken. We’re going to need a brace,” he heard someone say. 

“Do they know, dad?”

“They know enough, I suppose,” was the response from Andy.

“He’ll heal from this, I know he will. I just need someone to help me carry him up the stairs. He weighs a shit ton. Sorry, language, I know, pop.” Stiles turned his back on them and kept at the Herculean task of trying to budge Derek. A task at which he was failing miserably. He finally felt foot steps and turned around. Two of the bigger officers motioned for him to move to the side and they grunted as they lifted Derek up, one holding him under the arms, the other by his ankles. 

“Jesus this guy’s heavy,” one of them muttered. They reached the top and walked around to the front of the house and up the stairs. They took Derek to the tiny room and laid him gently on the bed. Stiles had followed them into the room and then shooed them out for being too noisy although they hadn’t said anything further.

Stiles took Derek’s hand and started talking to him, words racing out of his mouth before his thoughts could catch up. “Derek, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He looked down to where he’d taken Derek’s hand without thinking about it and decided it’d be worth getting punched if Derek would just wake up. He’d have to think about why it was so comforting to hold Derek’s hand later. Like when he was holed up in his room and refusing to come out. That would be a good later.

“Derek, you need to be okay, okay? I can’t have a crush on a corpse. It would look bad. There are creepy people who do that. I don’t want to be a creeper. Besides, the world can’t afford to have one less hot person in it, not when we are limited on the hotness already? Right?” Stiles hoped Derek wasn’t picking any of this up subconsciously. The man could be dying and all Stiles could talk about was his high school crush. Ridiculous. 

“Also, and more importantly, you’ve got Gabriel. And Isaac. I couldn’t handle the Care Bear stare of their puppy eyes in tandem if I showed up without your grumpy ass. Seriously. I’d melt into a pile of puppy goo or something.” 

He poked at Derek’s shoulder and then leaned over his face, his cheek close to Derek’s mouth. He could feel Derek’s breath as he breathed out, warm and moist. Stiles stood up then sat on the bed next to Derek, still holding his hand which he cradled in his lap, back toward Derek as he stroked his hand from his wrist to his thumb. He had nothing left to say. He was exhausted but he wasn’t willing to leave Derek’s side. Derek who came for him. And then he realized, they all came for him: Allison, Danny, his dad – but that was his job, after all, dad, son, etc. – even the guys from his dad’s station. Everyone came. Stiles felt a bit guilty. All these people had risked so much for him. He didn’t feel like he deserved that. He promised himself he’d stay home, safe, so this wouldn’t happen to him again. Still holding Derek’s hand, Stiles rested on the bed alongside Derek, his back to him, Derek’s arm under his ribs. He wasn’t comfortable but he wanted to hold Derek until he woke up, feeling secure with his heat. He was a little afraid of getting punched or thrown against the wall but he’d risk that to know Derek was okay.

 

Outside the Sheriff had started getting things cleaned up. It looked like a terrorist operation gone wrong and these men had families. He didn’t want anyone knowing about this. He had a few guys head back down the road to drive their cars up to the cabin. He’d sent Allison and Danny home in Derek’s Camaro. Stiles and Derek could ride back with him. They’d gone into the cellar to look for the man responsible for everything and true to Derek’s word, there was no sign of him. The rest of the cellar looked like a slaughterhouse. They’d be better off just burning the place down. Cleaning this mess up would be impossible. 

Andy spent some time going around the perimeter with a flash light and two other men. They looked for any clues of Stiles’s captor’s escape but found nothing amid their own trampling in the short grass and woods around the place. Giving up, Andy sent the men in to finish cleaning up what they could so he could check up on Stiles. He could hear Stiles snoring before he entered the bedroom and a small smile found its way to his lips. Some things never change. He knew there’d be the accompanying drool on someone’s pillow, too. He didn’t know that he’d find Stiles sprawled across Derek and drooling on his chest. His eyes narrowed and he saw that Derek, too, was still asleep. He gently pulled Stiles’s wrist to wake him. “Pssst – get up, Stiles. We’ve got to get going.”

Stiles woke, and his eyes grew huge as he realized that he was draped over Derek so unceremoniously. He slowly extricated himself and looked down at Derek, who hadn’t budged. “We never speak of this again,” he said, blushing while not looking at his father. He tried to pull one of the sheets around Derek’s frame to wipe away some of the drool on his shirt. He wasn’t very successful.

“He came here for you, Stiles. I think a little saliva isn’t going to ruin your… friendship.” Andy chuckled. “Do you and I need to have that chat yet?”

Stiles glared at his father. “What is this mysterious chat we’re supposed to have? Derek and I haven’t had any” – Stiles raised both hands and formed his infamous air quotes – “’chats’ so I guess we’re not. And since he’s currently comatose, otherwise I’d be slammed up against the wall with an angry werewolf in my face breathing his Kibbles on me, I don’t see it in the near future. So do you want to spill or are we hanging out in cryptic land, because you know what? I hate cryptic land. I don’t even have a passport.”

He turned back around, looked at the wet spot on Derek’s henley and gave it up as a lost cause. He walked out of the room without looking back. Well, that was his plan. He looked back at Derek. Derek who looked so vulnerable laying there on his back, arm still pulled away from his body where Stiles had dragged it earlier. 

The Sheriff was nudging Derek’s shoulder, trying to rouse him. “Derek, wake up. We’ve got to get you into the car.”

Derek rolled his head to the side and then his eyes snapped open. He sat up, the pain flared and he fell back to the bed, gasping. Stiles ran in the room and reached out but stopped before he touched Derek, looking awkward. “I’m okay, Stiles. I can feel it healing but this is going to take a lot longer than couple of days, I think. It’s not just a scratch.” He looked down at his chest. “Why is my shirt wet?”

Stiles looked at his chest and quickly looked away. “Who knew that werewolves drooled in their sleep?” Derek raised his eyebrow but said nothing.

Andy stepped in and cleared his throat. “This is an interesting conversation, boys, but I’ll have to interrupt. Derek, I’m going to get a couple of guys and we’ll help you down into the car. You’ll be staying with us until you’re better. This is a fact, not a discussion so you’re not going to argue with me.” Derek’s jaw snapped shut, closing off whatever retort he had. “Stiles and Gabriel can take care of you a lot better when you’re there. I’m going to be working doubles until the end of forever so that’s how it’ll be.” 

“Where’s he going to sleep, dad? Gabriel’s stuff is in the guest room and that couch will make his back worse. I know, I’ve slept on it.”

“Don’t pretend I don’t know that Gabriel has never once slept in the guest bed, Stiles. I’m not a moron, as much as you think differently. Derek can stay there, since it doesn’t look like he’ll be moving around much for awhile. As for you, I’d prefer you were home until we figure out what’s going on. I’m assigning some people to watch the house.” Andy looked at Stiles and waited for the challenge he knew was coming.

“Dad, I can’t just stay home. I have school. Finals are next week. And I already plan on staying home after that.” Stiles dropped his voice to a whisper, “But Dad, Derek will kill me if he’s alone with me for more than just his joint custody visit. Especially if he finds out about where you found me just now? Which, by the way, we will never talk about that?”

“Werewolf hearing, Stiles. Really, did you hit your head? I thought they just drugged you,” he heard Derek say quietly. “I’m not going to kill you. I can’t even stand up. Just stay out of reach of my arms and you’ll be fine.” Andy laughed.

“Really, you traitor?” Stiles directed toward his father before looking back at Derek. “Don’t think I can’t see your muscles there, Lon Chaney, Jr. You’ll drag yourself across the house when I’m sleeping and then cover me with a pillow so there’s no evidence. Dad, this is such a bad plan,” he whined.

“Yes, the man who just saved your ass was planning to have his back broken so he’d be paralyzed from the waist down so he could place himself at my mercy by staying in my guest room so he could drag himself across the floor to murder you. Brilliant planning, Derek. I’m glad I figured this out before I invited you into my home.” The Sheriff rolled his eyes and walked out of the room to get some help to move Derek. 

“I guess the sarcasm came from your dad,” was all he said.

“Yeah, it’s a Stilinski trait. You’re not going to kill me, are you?”

“Stiles, why would I kill you? Why would you even think that?” Derek asked, genuinely looking concerned. He wanted to tell Stiles right there. Tell him that he was bonding to him, that he wanted to be with him, close to him all the time. Tell him that Stiles meant everything to him and he couldn’t even think straight when Stiles had been taken from him. Instead he said,” Stiles, I’ll talk to your father if you want. I’ll ask him to take me somewhere else if this is going to be uncomfortable for you.”

Stiles looked mortified. “I didn’t mean that. I’ve got drugs in my system.” Derek could hear his heart start to rabbit. “You have to stay with us. Gabriel is attached to you now and if you were gone for too long I don’t think it would be good for him.”

“What about you, Stiles?” Derek asked, leaving the meaning open.

Stiles’s eyes wandered around the room, looking at the tacky flower print wallpaper. “What about me? I’m not the one with a broken back, Batman. Just don’t slither across the floor to suffocate me, okay?” Stiles put his hands in his pockets and hurried out of the room. He knew what Derek had asked and he avoided it. He knew Derek could probably smell all of his teenage hormones and knew exactly where Stiles stood in his recently realized epic crushdom for Derek Hale. He didn’t want Derek’s pity, for Derek to look at him knowing that he had feelings for him but unable to reciprocate. He would have Derek in his home but Gabriel could do all of the interacting: bringing Derek food that Stiles made for him; changing Derek’s bedclothes if he was there that long; and bringing DVDs (that Stiles picked, of course) into the room for Derek to watch if he got bored. Yes, that’s all that would happen and Stiles could stay in his nice room and think all of his thoughts about Derek that he wanted to without the guilt of Derek being able to smell them on him. Stiles was miserable. 

A couple of burly men, the same ones who brought Derek in earlier, came in to help Derek to the car. This trip was a lot easier, with Derek conscious and able to help a lot more. They muscled him out of the room and into the back seat of the Sheriff’s car. Stiles went around to get in the front and Andy shook his head. “Oh, no, son of mine, back seat.”

Stiles stared at his father indignantly. “You’d really lock me in the back with a werewolf? An Alpha? What about my well being?”

“Now. Tom’s riding up front with me. Try to get some sleep. You look like crap and you probably feel worse. It’s a long ride back home.” Andy fastened his seatbelt and Tom maneuvered around Stiles to get into the front seat. Stiles huffed but got in next to Derek, who seemed to take up most of the back of the compact car his father had driven here. He had already leaned his head back and looked asleep. Stiles was jealous. His father was right. He did feel like crap but he didn’t think he could sleep with Derek so close. But he was fooling himself because didn’t his dad just wake him up spread across Derek’s body? The silent hum of the car lulled Stiles to sleep in minutes.

 

The ride was uneventful, although the Sheriff kept looking in his rearview mirror to check on Stiles and if he was being honest with himself, on Derek as well. When he and Derek had spoken and Derek told him about the bond that was developing between him and Stiles, he had seen red and stood up from the table. Stiles was his son, the last living member of his family. Derek could sense his anger and was ready to end the discussion and leave. Andy knew about werewolves, though. More than Stiles knew, he was sure of that, and most likely more than Derek himself knew regarding pack hierarchies and relationships in the pack. He knew that werewolves mated for life and that the bond would overtake everything, even causing madness if it wasn’t acted on. He knew Derek’s interest in Stiles wasn’t casual. What he wasn’t sure of was if Stiles even had any interest in Derek. Yes, he had flippantly told him that he was gay but with Stiles, flippancy did not equal honesty. So, the Sheriff sat back down and told Derek to continue. The conversation was stilted and tough, full of embarrassment on both sides but the Sheriff asked his questions and Derek answered as fully and as honestly as he was able. The talk ended with Andy understanding that Derek’s bond at this point was one way and that he would not act on it without speaking to Stiles about it first, to gauge his feelings and find out if they were in any way reciprocated. He knew that if Stiles had any romantic feelings toward Derek, he’d begin to feel the bond regardless of whether or not Derek showed his interest in him. He didn’t want Stiles to feel ashamed though, to feel like he had unrequited feelings for someone, which is why he wanted Derek to be honest with him. He made it clear that they would all have another conversation once Derek and Stiles had talked, to lay down some ground rules until Stiles turned 18, or to make appropriate threats if Stiles wasn’t interested. After tonight, however, he was pretty sure Stiles was more than interested. 

Now he had to figure out a way to make the two most stubborn people he knew talk about it and clear the air. He figured Derek staying at the house would force the issue. And if not, he wasn’t adverse to causing embarrassment until they did talk. It was his prerogative and duty as a father. 

He turned and started asking questions about Tom’s family to help pass the time. They ended up playing the license plate game as the hours passed until they arrived back in Beacon Hills. 

 

Allison and Danny stopped at a Denny’s on their way back to Beacon Hills. They were stressed, tired, and surprisingly hungry after the non-action they saw at the cabin. As soon as they’d arrived, Derek had ushered them into the trees to wait as back up but they ended up sitting, silent, in the branches. Danny was grateful that he hadn’t had to shoot anyone. Doubly grateful he hadn’t been shot at. Allison had been a bit disappointed. She’d been bored but her training made her follow Derek’s orders. She knew back up was just as important as being on the front line. 

They talked about Stiles and how out of it he seemed. “He’s always a bit spazzy though, don’t you think?” asked Allison. Danny glared at her, and she backed up further into the booth, hands raised, palms forward. “I’m not saying that like it’s bad. It’s just a Stiles thing. I wouldn’t know what to do if he acted differently.”

Danny’s glare receded a bit. “He’s been through a lot, Allison. Who’s to say how he’s supposed to act? We just need to be there for him. He won’t ask us to be so it’s our responsibility to be.” Danny didn’t know why he felt this way, he just knew. He’d never been really close to Stiles but he was starting to feel bad about it. Stiles was a good guy and he always had everyone else’s best interest in mind when he did anything. Danny could just as easily been branded the nerd in school if anyone else had known how good he was with computers. He’d not lied about anything, just kept it under the radar and made sure to hang out with the crowd that would keep him from being bullied. 

“You know that Stiles rescued Derek’s brother, right? He’s been staying with Stiles and his dad for months,” Allison said around her omelet. 

“Why isn’t he staying with Derek? And what’s up with Derek? Suddenly he’s everywhere and I’ve never even heard of him until earlier this year when I was breaking the law to help him.” Now that the adrenaline had worn off and Derek wasn’t around, Danny felt bold enough to look for some answers. “I mean, he’s, well, super hot so it’s hard to think straight around him as it is but now we’re out in the middle of the woods with guns while he’s trying to rescue the bench warmer on the Lacrosse team from kidnappers? And we let him go alone? Does none of this sound a little cray cray to you?” Danny made motions with his finger circling his ear to emphasize his point. “The guy got his back broken and no one thought to call the hospital? What’s going on here, Allison? And what the hell ran under us when we were in the trees? It looked right at you. I think I’ve earned the right to know.”

“Danny, I will tell you what I can. Some things are not my secrets to share. Derek can handle just about anything, I will tell you that. I’m not sure his back was so much broken,” she lied, “as much as strained. We don’t know why Stiles was taken, maybe revenge against the Sheriff? Maybe someone he arrested who was trying to get back at him? I don’t know for sure.” Allison stared at her plate then looked back up at Danny, appetite gone.

Danny’s eyes bored into hers. “That was a steaming pile of bullshit if ever I saw one. How about we try that again, only this time you tell me something believable? You have got to be the crappiest liar I’ve ever known.”

Allison looked up, tears forming in her eyes. “Have you ever lied so much that you don’t know what’s true any more? What you can tell someone? I have. I don’t want you in any deeper, Danny. Once you know this, there is no way to unknow it. That is the truth. You’ll have to talk to Derek. He’s the only one who can tell you what you think you want to know.”

“I’m already in deep, Allison. I’ve broken the law for you and Derek. I deserve to know why.” Danny dug into his food, not really hungry any more but needing to do something. 

They drove the rest of the way home in silence. Allison wasn’t sure how to start up a new conversation that wouldn’t lead them back to the secrets she was keeping and Danny seemed to be trying to sleep. 

Allison pulled up in front of Danny’s home. “Danny, wake up, we’re back.” She felt awkward and suddenly realized it was important to her how Danny saw her. He sat up and looked over at her. “Danny, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied. Part of what I said is true. They aren’t my secrets to tell. I’ll talk to Derek and see if he is willing to share those secrets with you. I should have just said that in the first place.”

“You should have but I forgive you. I know what it’s like to not be able to share someone else’s secret. I’m going to sleep for a long time but when I wake up, I’m going to go check on Stiles. You need to do that, too. I have the feeling he’s going to need some friends.” Danny stretched and opened the door, walking up the steps to his doorway. “Thanks for the adventures, Ally,” he grinned and waved before turning back and opening the door. 

Allison drove away feeling a lot better. She headed back out to the Hale house where Peter was on the porch, lost in thought.

He acknowledged her and patted the step to his right. She sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. 

“Long night?” he asked and rested his head on hers.

“I lied to Danny about everything. I should have said nothing.” Allison sighed. 

“Lesson learned then, sweetie. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing.” Peter sat up. “Did you get Stiles back? Is he okay?” He sounded concerned.

Allison nodded. “He’s fine. They didn’t hurt him. Derek was hurt pretty bad though but he’s alive.” 

“Let me guess. My fool of a nephew went charging in to save his princess? All by himself?” Peter said the words without venom. 

Allison looked at Peter, shocked. “His princess, what do you mean by that? He went there to save Stiles. You know, Stiles?” And then it dawned on her. Allison wasn’t usually so slow but this came out of nowhere. “Wait, he… No, that’s not possible.” She shook her head. “Derek likes Stiles? Like, like likes Stiles?”

Peter smiled. “Finally. I was dying to tell someone and since you guessed it all on your own, I’m not in trouble with my Alpha.” 

“Wow,” she breathed out. “That’s something. I thought Derek was a self-imposed celibate or something. I’ve never seen him even remotely interested in anyone and if I hadn’t found out about him and Kate, I’d have thought he was just a robot. Of course, the Kate thing didn’t go so well so maybe that’s why he’s like that.” Allison was two for two on feeling foolish today. She’d have to work on her observation skills. “I talked to Stiles a few months ago and he told me in not so many words that he was having feelings towards guys. He changed the subject and started talking about Derek. I didn’t even connect the dots. I just thought he was sort of rebounding from Lydia after being shut down so hard. You know, picking someone even more out of reach than Lydia. Now I just feel like a bitch. I should have been supporting him instead. Does this make me a terrible person, Peter?”

Peter pulled Allison in for a hug. “No, it just makes you human. But you need to stop making this about you and make it about Stiles now. Get some sleep and when you’re rested, take some time to go see him and be his friend. If things are as serious for him as they are for Derek, he’s going to need a friend. Ever since Scott’s shenanigans, Stiles has smelled depressed. It’s really awful to be around.”

That’s the Peter Allison knew. “We saw Scott last night. He ran under us when we were up in the tree. He knew I was there. He stopped and looked up at me but then he ran off into the woods. I have no idea where he would have gone.”

“That’s something we’ll have to worry about later. You need to get some rest. Don’t go into the basement. I’ve got a pet down there and we played a little rough last night. It wouldn’t be safe for you. Ta ta!” and with that, Peter went into the house and disappeared into the back. Allison decided that rest was the best for now and she’d worry about what Peter had just said after she woke up. 

 

Isaac and Gabriel ran out of the house as soon as they heard the Sheriff pull up. Gabriel tugged on Stiles’s door until the Sheriff popped the automatic locks and he was able to open it. He threw himself on Stiles in the enclosed space and nuzzled into his neck. Stiles woke up and hugged him tightly. “I missed you, too, buddy. Now c’mon and help me get Derek up to the guest room. He’s been hurt but he’ll be okay. He’s going to stay with us for awhile.”

Derek was awake. He’d woken up about fifteen minutes before they arrived at the house. He was not looking forward to being carried again. He hated looking weak in front of others and this would be the third time in less than twenty four hours that he’d had to be carried. 

He opened up his door and found Isaac waiting for him. “Hey boss, let’s get you upstairs.” Isaac lifted him easily and Tom raised his eyebrow. 

“You keep strange friends, Andy,” was all he said.

“Can’t pick your family, now can you?” Andy said by way of an answer. 

Derek’s heart skipped a beat. “You okay, Derek?” Isaac whispered.

“Yeah, let’s just get this over with,” Derek muttered. “I hope you don’t have any plans over the next two weeks. If you do, cancel them. You’re on Stiles duty. Not negotiable. You’ll be his shadow until school is over. After that, if he leaves the house, you are with him. No exceptions. Clear?”

“Crystal. Stiles glue, that’s me.” Isaac hefted Derek up the stairs and laid him out on the bed. Isaac left immediately after to find Stiles. Derek knew then he’d made the right choice.

Derek looked around the room and sighed. He was going to be here for awhile. He knew he’d heal but this was the worst damage he’d ever had done to him. Even he didn’t know how long it would take to recover. He was at the mercy of the Stilinkis. He had planned on talking with Stiles after he found him, explaining everything about his feelings. He was dreading the conversation because if Stiles rejected him, he didn’t know how he’d be able to handle it. He knew the Sheriff wasn’t going to let him procrastinate much longer. Then he would be stuck here, faced with an awkward situation with no way to escape. He would never plan on smothering Stiles with a pillow like Stiles had insinuated but maybe he could order Isaac to smuggle him out? No, Isaac would never go against the Sheriff’s orders, even for his Alpha. He didn’t have it in him. He idly wondered if the Sheriff had any guns loaded with wolfsbane laced bullets. That would be easiest. 

Derek heard Stiles trudge up the stairs and some of the chatter he was having with Isaac. “He said what? No way. Not happening. Are you planning on following me into the bathroom, too? What if I have diarrhea? Are you going to follow me in and out all day?” Stiles rambled on.

“If I have to, yes. This comes from Derek. You have no say in it so you may as well get used to it. It’s only for two weeks and then I don’t have to watch you when you’re at home, only if you leave,” Isaac responded calmly. 

“What?!” squeaked Stiles. “He’s not the boss of me.” He stomped into his room and slammed the door shut, only to open it a second later to let Gabriel in before slamming it again in Isaac’s face. Derek heard Isaac head down the stairs, presumably to keep watch on the roof outside of Stiles’s room. A moment later, he heard Isaac land on the roof and settle into a comfortable position.

Knowing that Isaac was outside, guarding Stiles, Derek felt some tension ease. He needed sleep to help with the healing but the scent of Stiles was everywhere, making him want to hold onto Stiles and sleep with his warmth and scent filling Derek’s space. It was his own fault he was by himself. He hadn’t said anything in all those months when he could have. 

He heard Stiles get into his bed, the creak of the mattress as it took his weight, and a second later, the weight of Gabriel. Moments later, Stiles’s breath evened out and only then did Derek allow himself to sleep.

 

 

The next morning, the visits started at the Stilinski house. Peter and Allison showed up first, with two boxes of bakery fresh doughnuts. Andy seemed hesitant about allowing Peter in with his history but Allison assured him that Peter, while not harmless, was not a threat to anyone in their home. Peter went to check on Derek while Allison waited downstairs for Stiles. She heard him call down and invite her up to his room about ten minutes later. “Sorry for keeping you down there. I had to brush my teeth and find something that wasn’t dirty. It’s time consuming, being kidnapped, and household chores just seem to pile up when you’re gone. What do you need, Allison?”

She hugged him. “I don’t need anything. I just wanted to see you and to say I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch to you, Stiles. What can I do to make it up to you?”

“The doughnuts are a good start,” he answered, taking the top box from her. “I’ll go get us some milk.” He opened the box and in typical Stiles fashion, offered it to Gabriel and Allison before taking one for himself. They were still warm. “Mmmmmm, soo good,” he groaned. “Foodgasm.” He headed downstairs to the fridge and poured them all a glass of milk. 

The Sheriff stopped him at the bottom of the stairs. “Peter is in with Derek. Check on them, will you? I don’t particularly want another murderer in my home. I’ve met my quota.”

“Copy that, Dad.” Stiles went up the stairs and handed out the milk, setting his on his desk before going over to Derek’s room – he’d already started thinking of it as Derek’s – and knocking on the door. “You guys playing nice in there?”

“Yes, Stiles. Everything is fine. Go back to your room,” he heard Derek say through the door.

“Still not the boss of me,” he whispered as he headed back to his room, knowing Derek could hear him and not really caring. 

Stiles talked Allison into creating a character on World of Warcraft and gave her the disc so she could load it on her computer and play with him from Derek’s. He was going to make a new character so they could level up together. He guilted her and he knew it but he wasn’t feeling bad about it. He was having a hilarious time watching her Hunter run around. She had no idea how to use the controls so she was stopping to read everything. He’d get her addicted in no time. 

Stiles heard the knocking on the door awhile later and headed down stairs to open the door before he froze. Last time he opened the door he had a gun aimed at him. Not happening, he turned around and tip-toed back up the stairs. If he pretended that no one was at the door, than no one would be. Flawless logic. 

Gabriel was at Allison’s side, watching her drown in the sea outside of the Orc city and laughing with her. “Stiles, help! I’m drowning!” she shrieked with laughter. 

“This is no laughing matter,” he mocked, and showed her how to swim. 

“Who was at the door?” she asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m just ignoring it. They’ll go away,” and he went back to the keyboard to help her get to dry land.

“Stiles?” he heard coming from the stairs. “Isaac let me in, I hope that’s okay?”

It was Danny. Danny was at the door and he didn’t even know that Danny knew where he lived. 

“C’mon up. Second door on the right. I’m just teaching Allison to swim or I’d come get you,” Stiles shouted.

“Uh, I think you’ll want to come down here first. I’m not alone.”

Stiles started to panic. Danny’s tone was off. And then he heard Isaac’s growl, low but steady. The door to Derek’s room flew open and Peter was down the stairs in a second, growling and shifting as he passed Stiles. Gabriel jumped off the bed and shifted, clothes left behind in a jumble on the floor. He was growling and snapping at the top of the stairs. 

Andy’s voice somehow carried over all of the growling and snapping and Stiles clearly heard him say, “Now calm down, everyone. It’s just Scott. He’s not here to hurt Stiles, are you, Scott?”

“No, Sir. I made a mistake. I was… Led to believe something that wasn’t true. I did something that I’m ashamed of and I’m here to make it right.” Scott’s voice broke. 

Stiles went to the top of the stairs and found Gabriel blocking the stairs. He knelt down and hugged Gabriel. “It’s okay, Scott doesn’t know how to lie. I’ll be okay.”

He walked down the stairs with Gabriel in front of him, still growling. Scott’s eyes were tearing up. “I’m so sorry, bro. I messed it all up. I smelled Allison on you and you know… Arrrrousal as you put it, and I just thought…”

Stiles opened up his arms and tilted his head back, inviting Scott in for a Stilinski patented hug. Isaac grudgingly moved out of the way and Scott all but fell into Stiles’s arms and pulled Stiles in tight. “Never again, Stiles. I got tricked.”

“You’ll get tricked again, you big potato, but don’t come after me when it happens next time, okay? I’ve always got your back and I’ll never steal your girl. Which reminds me, we’ll have to talk about that later, when we’re somewhere where everyone doesn’t have super hearing,” Stiles said in a fake sing song theatrical voice. “Oh, and you’ll need to pledge undying loyalty and fealty to Derek’s pack. And that’s not debatable. He’s upstairs so after we’re done with our manly hug, you can take care of that before I kick your ass, which you’ll let me do because I’m such a wonderful friend. Mmmkay, Fido?”

Scott nodded before releasing Stiles. He hung his head and looked like he was being death marched as he walked up the stairs to see Derek. 

Danny had a grin on his face and started laughing at Stiles. “Well, I guess I know who’s in charge now. Yesterday may have been less of a fiasco if someone else had been kidnapped and you were making all of the decisions.”

“Finally, someone appreciates my genius,” said Stiles. He moved toward Danny with his hand out, not sure if he was supposed to shake or hug when Danny moved forward and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“You don’t get to scare me like that again, Stilinski. Not cool,” Danny said into his shoulder. Danny gave good hugs. 

“Hang on, Danny. I need to make sure that Derek doesn’t trick Scott into coming close enough so he can maul him.”

“I heard that!” Stiles heard Scott and Derek yell in tandem.

Stiles ran up the stairs, leaving Danny with Isaac and his father, and stopped in to check on Allison. She mouthed “Scott?” and he nodded. 

He ducked back out of his room and made his way to Derek’s. He poked his head in. “Initiation ceremony all done, guys?” 

Derek nodded. “Almost. Say the words, Scott.”

Scott knelt down on one knee, head bowed down. “I pledge undying loyalty and fealty to your pack, Derek Hale, and to you, Stiles Stilinski.”

Stiles’s eyes bugged out. “What?! I totally called that! I knew that’s how you did it!” He fist pumped in the air. 

Scott stood up and rolled his eyes. “I had to bare my throat to Derek. It was a little awkward leaning over him on the bed but it got the job done. He made me say that for your benefit.”

“Oh. Way to ruin it for me, Lassie. I take it back, I’m totally stealing your girl. She’s already in my room.” He waggled his eyebrows in a parody of seduction and took off running down the hall. “Danny, come on up,” he yelled as he got to his room.

Gabriel came bounding up the stairs and tackled Stiles onto the bed. Stiles laughed and fell onto his comforter. 

Danny walked in and smirked. “That’s one hell of a smart dog you’ve got, Stilinski. I didn’t take you for the dog whisperer but damn, impressive. You should have seen the tricks he was doing for Isaac downstairs.” 

“I think you need to tell him everything, Stiles,” Allison nodded toward Danny.

“Yeah, and let’s talk about why Scott has to pledge himself to Derek’s pack. Are you all in a cult?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no beta. Hope you guys like this chapter. :)


	7. Werewolf Boyfriend

After sitting down and having a long talk with Danny (who was mortified that he’d been petting Gabriel and getting him to fetch), he was caught up with everything. He took it all in stride in typical Danny fashion, asking questions for some clarification here and there through Stiles’s narrative but mostly just nodding his head.

“This explains so much,” Danny offered when Stiles asked if he was okay with everything. “Honestly? It’s a lot to take in but I’m not going to tell anyone about it, Stiles. Not that I would, but who’d believe me anyway? I’m just happy that you’re safe in all of this and that you’ve got such an impressive selection of body guards.” He indicated to Isaac and Scott.

After everyone left (except Isaac, who Stiles had a feeling he’d be seeing an awful lot of thanks to Derek’s mandate), Stiles felt emotionally drained but so much better for it.

Scott and Allison left together. She wanted to spend some time with him and Scott could tell how sad she was through everything. No one had brought it up but she was devastated at having to see her mother and grandfather’s bodies. Stiles had a feeling it would take a long time for her to get over that and it humanized her a bit for him. His heart went out to her.

 

Once school had finished and summer had begun, Stiles had stayed true to his word, remaining housebound for the last two weeks with Isaac all but hovering around him. He’d cleaned the house top to bottom, skipping only Derek’s room. He’d done all the laundry (including Derek’s and with every piece of underwear he folded he could feel his face get redder and redder). He’d given Derek’s neatly arranged clean clothes to Gabriel to put away in the old wooden dresser that was in the spare room with Derek. He’d made meals for the four of them every day, having Gabriel or Isaac bring up Derek’s meals. 

The only time he’d actually seen Derek was on Derek’s second day of recovery when he’d gone in and set up a television and blu-ray player so Derek would have something to do. He’d avoided Derek’s eyes the entire time, looking away as he told him that Gabriel would get any movie he wanted and that he could Netflix whatever they didn’t have. He’d hurried out of the room quickly after that, trying not to look at Derek’s bare chest as he was propped up against a bevy of pillows, quietly watching Stiles.

Lydia had changed her schedule to accommodate three times a week tutoring for Gabriel. After she’d taken his placement materials home and graded them, she’d found out that he was practically brilliant in math and needed a lot of work in just about every other subject. She’d put together a comprehensive learning regimen for him and while he pretended to be put out with Stiles and Derek, he practically raced to the door when he knew she was there. He would study for hours before her arrival so when she quizzed him, he knew all the answers. Stiles thought he might be developing a little crush on Lydia but he felt no jealousy. She seemed to adore Gabriel and was even thawing toward Stiles so that was aces in his books. Things had settled into a nice routine for Stiles and he liked it. He wasn’t even going stir crazy like he thought he would be.

This morning, however, was going to change all of that. His father had been shut in with Derek since the crack of dawn and he’d been able only to hear their low voices but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He’d pestered Gabriel into trying to tell him what they were saying but apparently Derek had told Gabriel in no uncertain terms to say nothing of it to Stiles. Stiles huffed and stomped up the stairs, determined to put a stop to this burgeoning conspiracy immediately. Just as he raised his hand to knock on the closed door, it opened and he almost fell forward into his father.

“Stiles,” Andy said, eyebrow raised, “Derek would like to speak with you.”

This didn’t bode well. 

He stepped aside, allowing space for Stiles to enter the small room. “Thanks, Dad, but I’m not feeling well. I’m going to go lay down in my room. Derek, I’ll chat at you later, yeah, bro?”

He turned around to head to his room and a firm hand gripped his shoulder, just short of painful. “You’ll ‘chat at Derek’ now, son.” The Sheriff’s voice left no room for doubt. Stiles shuffled into the room, head hung like a prisoner on his way to death row, his bright orange No Doubt shirt not helping his cause. The door shut firmly behind him and he was left in front of the Alpha werewolf. 

“Your father has insisted that I speak with you, Stiles,” Derek grumbled. “I have flash cards.”

With that, Stiles laughed. And once he started, he couldn’t stop. He looked up at Derek, sitting so seriously on the bed with a stack of flash cards and the idea of a werewolf taking time to write notes on them to speak to him had him cracking up. He laughed so hard, his gut started to cramp and he had tears in his eyes. Derek’s facial expression didn’t change. After a moment, Stiles tried to compose himself. He pulled the small wooden chair up to the side of the bed and said, “Hit me with the flash cards, big guy.”

Derek carefully sorted the flash cards. They were Andy’s idea, so he didn’t miss anything when he spoke with Stiles. Andy had numbered them so he put them back in numerical order.

“I am a werewolf,” monotoned Derek. “I get furry when I’m angry and the closer it is to the full moon, the more enhanced my emotions get.”

Stiles let his jaw drop. “I know all this, really? Do I get a demo? I’ve seen all this before, Derek. I know all this. Hello, research guy here, remember?”

“Shut it. No words from you until I’m done.” Derek flushed red, with embarrassment or anger, Stiles couldn’t tell but now he was intrigued.

“This fall, I met my mate. I said nothing. I ignored my emotions. I may have unintentionally hurt my mate’s feelings. When a werewolf recognizes his mate a bond begins to form. I don’t know what causes it but I know that if both parties ignore it, it can be harmful both physically and emotionally.” Derek flipped to the next flash card.

“I am an emotionally stunted werewolf,” Derek grumbled. He couldn’t believe he was reading everything the Sheriff had told him to. Strangely, he was more afraid of the Sheriff than any Hunter he’d ever come across so he knew he would read every flash card, word for word. He sighed.

“I should have been more honest with my mate. I should have given him,” and with that, Stiles looked up at Derek, meeting his eyes directly for the first time before Derek looked back down at the flash card. Derek’s mate was male? Scott? Isaac? Who could it be? Stiles was suddenly much more interested in this conversation and tried to give it his best attention without fidgeting too much. “…more attention, let him know my intentions immediately instead of brushing him off and ignoring his needs and feelings,” Derek continued.

“Instead, I jeopardized his life, and mine, by keeping these feelings hidden and suppressed.” Derek was getting even redder. Stiles imagined his head might explode if he reddened any further. 

Next flash card and Derek forced himself to look at Stiles. “It’s you, Stiles. It’s always been you.”

“Are there any cameras in this room? Did my Dad set you up to do this?” Stiles frowned and scanned the room, looking for the telltale red light of a recording device. “This isn’t funny, Derek. I’m not laughing.” Stiles stood up, pushing the chair away. “I’m not going to listen to this any more. I’m not here for your entertainment.” Derek grabbed Stiles by the wrist faster than Stiles’s eyes could follow.

“I’m not done. I have…” Derek looked down, still holding onto Stiles, “three more to read and you will sit here and you will listen. This isn’t funny, Stiles. When I’m done, you can say or do what you want. Until then, sit. Down. Now.”

“I suspect that we are dealing with a Necromancer, Stiles.”

Woah, what happened to the mate stuff? The rubber band subject change was like a splash of cold water to Stiles.

“I need your help to find out who he is and how he’s doing what he’s doing. I would prefer that we do this as partners. I will no longer keep information back from you and everything we know, we need to tell the Sheriff immediately.” That was definitely added in after Derek had read through the cards the first time. 

“When I was in the basement with him, he threatened to resurrect my family. He only knew that they were killed, not that they were burned alive. I need to know if he can do that with their ashes. He summoned up the Argents and some of the Alpha pack. Deucalion is the only one left alive from that pack. They were all killed by another pack up in Washington last year. He wants me to deliver Deucalion to him and then he said he’ll leave. If not, he’ll revive my family and have them come after all of you, all of my pack. Stiles, he even threatened to resurrect your mother if I don’t bring him to him,” he whispered the final sentence so quietly Stiles had to strain to hear him.

Derek paused. Two more flash cards to go.

“Stiles, if you accept being my mate, we will be equal. I will do everything in my power to protect you. You will never be subordinate to me in the pack or in our lives. We will not have sex until you’re ready and your father never wants to know about it,” Derek flushed almost purple. Stiles’s eyes threatened to bug out of his head.

“I will always be there for you. You can hug me whenever you want.” Derek’s eyebrows raised but he continued on, “I will never turn you away.”

Last flash card.

“Stiles, this is for life. If you agree to this, I am the only one you’ll ever be with. You’ll be stuck with a grumpy werewolf until one of us dies. If I die first, you’ll be in more physical and emotional pain than you’ve ever felt in your life. The same would happen to me if you were to die first. Your father is okay with the gay thing if you decide to lower yourself to being with me. Hopefully you don’t mind being with an ex fugitive who has no home, no job, and kills family members.” Derek groaned. “You can always say no and settle down with a nice boy or girl and your father will be much happier. If you choose to settle for the worst, being me, he’ll still love you.”

“Flash cards are over, thank God,” Derek said. 

Stiles was silent. At least he wasn’t speaking. His foot was tapping the hardwood floor so fast he thought he’d beat a hole through it and land in the kitchen. “And you’re not punking me? That would be so cruel, Der.”

“This is a lot to take in. You can take the flash cards if you want. I’m not saying any of that stuff again.” Derek offered them to Stiles. He waved his hand and shook his head.

“I don’t want those. This…” he gestured between Derek and himself, “is surreal. I mean, look at you. Then look at me. How could this possibly be a benefit to you? You’re like, a 20 on a scale of 1 to 10 and I’m what, a 3? On a good day maybe a 4? I never stop talking or moving, I’m kinda spazzy, I know already so you don’t have to tell me. I’m too skinny and you’ve already established that you hate me. Is it possible that your werewolf radar thing is broken? Maybe you meant to bond with Scott and smelled him on me. That’s probably it. Aside from his crooked jaw he’s not too…”

Stiles was cut off when Derek leaned over and grabbed Stiles by the neck of his t-shirt and pulled him over to the bed, inches from his face. “If you say one more negative thing about yourself in front of me or within my hearing, I will claw your tongue out of your skull. You are not perfect. No one is. I’m far from it. Your father was right about one thing: I don’t deserve you. I never will. But I will spend my life trying to deserve you if you let me.” He let Stiles go and Stiles stumbled a little, almost falling forward on top of Derek before pulling himself upright.

“Copy that, Wolfman.” He wasn’t sure what the protocol was here. He reached up with his left hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “So, I could say no? Just walk out and everything would be okay?”

Derek nodded. “You could. Everything wouldn’t be ‘okay’ but you’d get over it.”

“What about you? Would you just get over it?” Stiles asked.

“No, Stiles. For me, you’ll always be the one. I could live without you but it would be an empty existence. Survival only, like I have been doing since Laura died. Still, you have to make this decision for yourself. You have so many possibilities ahead of you.” Derek was looking straight forward at the door as he spoke. 

Stiles thought about everything Derek had done for him, how he helped him during his epic panic attack, saved him from Isaac when he’d turned feral in the jail, and killed Gerard when it was clear he was going to kill him. He knew that he was attracted to Derek, but the idea of sex with Derek? He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “Do I have to be the bottom in all of this?” he blurted out.

Well, that did it. Derek’s head was definitely going to explode now. He was turning an alarming shade of purple and Stiles started to back up, slowly. 

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Stiles. That will have to be your decision as well.” Derek adjusted himself on the bed, clearly uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was headed. 

“I don’t feel like I’m in love with you, if I’m being honest, Derek.” Stiles shuffled a bit on his feet, not wanting to hurt Derek but needing to tell him the truth.

Derek laughed and Stiles looked up. It was rare to see the werewolf smile, much less laugh, and it made his face look so much younger and if possible, even more handsome. Stiles could definitely be falling in love, even if he wasn’t already. He felt butterflies dancing the Salsa in his stomach.

“If you said you were in love with me, that would be stranger than all of this, Stiles. That’s the part we would work on. Being friends and letting the bond bring us closer together.”

“Oh. Well, you’re crazy attractive,” Stiles blushed but continued, “and I like being around you and…”

Derek cut him off. “Then why have you been avoiding me? I know you haven’t left the house at all, Stiles.”

Stiles sat on the bed, back to Derek. “Because I don’t want you to smell my teenage, uh, desire spray or whatever it is I’m apparently oozing off.” 

“You know that I could smell that if you were down the block, right?” Derek was grinning as he said it and Stiles felt even more embarrassed.

“And you never said anything, this whole time? Do you know how that feels? I can’t tell when someone is attracted to me, I don’t think it’s fair that you can!” Stiles stood up and turned back around to Derek. “You seriously think that’s okay?”

“Stiles, I’m sorry. I do know how it feels to be attracted to someone and for nothing to happen. It’s how I’ve felt since I met you.” Derek was serious and as he said this, he held out his hand to Stiles.

Stiles looked down at the werewolf’s huge hand and put his own on it, feeling the heat and the calluses under his fingers. Derek closed his fingers gently over Stiles’s hand, enveloping it with warmth. Stiles placed his other hand over the top of Derek’s.

“Can I touch your eyebrows? Then I’ll tell you my decision, okay?” Derek rolled his eyes and then closed them, nodding. “Keep the sass to yourself, Fido,” Stiles said as he leaned over, and with his other hand (the one not being held in the werewolf oven grip) he brushed first one eyebrow and then the other with his index finger. Derek’s eyebrows were soft, not coarse like he imagined they’d be. “Where do they go when you shift?”

Derek shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve never thought about it.”

“Oh. Well, I’ve made up my mind. I’m setting myself up here so I’m counting on you not to psychologically scar me for life here, Der. If this is a joke, now is the time to tell me and allow me the dignity of the walk of shame back to my room.” Stiles paused, allowing Derek time to confess.

Derek shook his head. “No one is kidding here, Stiles. You’re not being punked.”

“Then, will you be my werewolf boyfriend?” Stiles blushed as he said it and tried to take his hand back from Derek who wasn’t allowing it.

“I’d be honored, Stiles.” Derek beamed.

Stiles seemed to hesitate and then impulse took over and he spit out, “Can I get a hug now? I really could use that.”

Derek nodded and pulled him in, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing. Stiles melted in his arms, feeling his stress disappear for the first time in weeks. He felt warm and safe with his face pressed into Derek’s neck. He also felt calmer, just being this close to Derek. He was the first one to break the hug, awkwardly standing up. “Okay, I guess I need to talk to Dad and then you and I can talk some more? I have oh, oodles of questions for you.”

Derek nodded. “Your dad will already know. Gabriel probably heard everything and I’m sure he’ll have told him that part by now.”

“I’m just going to pretend that Gabriel has a sense of privacy and told him nothing and that he’d want to hear it from me. I’ll be back in a few minutes, Derek. Don’t go anywhere,” Stiles laughed and then at least had the decency to pretend to be embarrassed when he said, “well, not that you could, but I’m just saying.” Derek just scoffed and waved his hand toward the door. 

“I’ll be here.”

 

After that, life seemed infinitely better to Stiles. 

He had a very long talk with his father about safe sex that involved some horrifically embarrassing demonstrations with condoms and cucumbers and bananas and even a misshapen squash (“They come in all shapes and sizes, son,” Andy had said awkwardly while he tried to get a condom over the huge base of the squash) that he’d rather never think about again but he made it through mostly unscathed after that part.

He went out into the living room and stretched out over the sofa. “I have a werewolf boyfriend,” he whispered, face in one of the navy blue cushions. He imagined himself on the Jerry Springer show and laughed quietly. 

“You okay with all of this, Stilinski?” Isaac inquired from the small loveseat he’d managed to slip into without Stiles noticing. 

“Yeah, I’m good. It’s a bit unreal right now, you know? I’m still not sure that this isn’t some dream that I’m going to wake up from and find out some bad guy has ripped off my limbs and I’m bleeding out in a cave. That’s more the speed of my life, really,” Stiles huffed. “Actually, I guess this is. I’ve got a hunka hunka werewolf who said he’d be my puppy boyfriend and here I am flying solo on the couch.”

Isaac made his way over to Stiles, knelt down, and slowly ran his palm in circles around Stiles’s back. “Stiles, go up to him. He’ll heal faster with you there. He won’t ask it of you but he wants you to be with him.” Isaac stood up and held out his hand to help Stiles up. “C’mon, you dee eye dee. Let’s take you to your prince.”

“Dee eye dee? What the hell is that?” Stiles took Isaac’s hand and let himself be hauled upright.

“Hehe. Damsel in distress. Gabriel and Lydia came up with it last week. It’s sort of stuck as your nickname.” 

“I am not a damsel in distress and when you die by my hand in your sleep, I will skin you and be sporting new ear muffs and a fur cap, Lahey.” Isaac laughed and Stiles, mustering up his remaining dignity, stomped up the stairs and tried to work up an excuse to go see Derek.

In the end, he couldn’t come up with anything plausible so he just went to Derek’s room and knocked on the door. “Derek, can I come in?”

“Sure,” was Derek’s response.

“Why is the door shut?” Stiles asked as he opened the door. “Already tired of me?”

“You shut it when you left this morning, Stiles. I can’t get out of bed remember?”

“Oh. Sorry about that.” Stiles stood at the doorway, pausing at the threshold.

“Will you come over here, Stiles? Please?” Derek patted the side of the bed with his hand, indicating for Stiles to come sit down. 

“I’m sorry to bug you, Derek,” Stiles walked over to the bed and sat down, “I know you need to rest and to recover.”

“That’s twice you’ve apologized to me for nothing, Stiles. Let’s not make this a habit. How about you only apologize when you’ve done something wrong?” Derek clumsily scooted over, moving his unresponsive legs with his arms to give Stiles more room. 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now that we’re boyfriends, Derek. Should I be here with you? Should I give you my number and wait for your phone call? Should I be calling you? Do I need to take you to dinner? Who’s the girl in this relationship? Do you take me to dinner? Argh! What do I do here?” Derek took Stiles’s hand and squeezed it gently, stopping his rambling with the unexpected touch.

“I don’t even know where to start with those questions. I haven’t been in a relationship with a guy, Stiles, but I’m pretty sure that neither of us has to be the girl here. Let’s just figure things out as they go along, okay? No pressure. And as for dinner, I’m pretty sure you’ve been feeding me for the last two weeks. As soon as I am up again, I’m taking you out to dinner. You choose whatever restaurant you like. I’d cook for you but I don’t want to watch you get food poisoning.” 

“Derek, I feel like I’m pushing myself on you, imposing because you’re stuck here in my house in this bed and you can’t go anywhere and you’ve got me just bugging you.” Stiles looked down at his dangling feet as he said this.

Derek laughed softly. “Stiles, this is hard for me to say but nothing could be further from the truth. I want you with me all the time. My wolf wants you with me all the time. When you leave, I feel sad, Stiles. Don’t you get it? Even when you were downstairs with your dad, I just wanted you to be here, next to me. Do you want a reason to apologize to me? Apologize for staying away so much.” Derek reached around Stiles’s waist and pulled him over to him on the bed. “Is this okay, Stiles?”

“I’m processing. Don’t move, okay?” Stiles was tense. He’d never been this close to someone on a bed (other than Gabriel and he didn’t count) other than when he wasn’t having a panic attack and being held by Derek. This, however, was completely different. His heart was racing, and his breath felt short, but not dangerously. Derek’s warmth seeped through the covers to Stiles’s back and he started to relax, Derek’s arm around his waist. He Derek had turned over on his side and his chest was pressed against Stiles’s back, the steady breathing against Stiles’s neck calming him until he was close to falling asleep. 

Stiles felt Gabriel’s weight on the bed and then felt him circle up before balling up and dropping down on his feet. Some things stayed the same even while others were radically different. He could get used to this. He felt so happy, calm and safe wrapped in Derek’s arms. He let sleep take him. 

 

When the twins had taken Scott up to the cabin, they’d been eerily quiet in the car, unlike how they’d been at the school. He’d later found out that the Old Dude (that’s what he’d nicknamed his captor) had been using them like meat puppets and speaking through them. Apparently he’d been busy elsewhere during the long drive, leaving them silent.

They’d started joking with him when they got near the cabin, suddenly as if waking up, and teasing him about his girlfriend being with Stiles until Scott was enraged. He could feel the wolf taking over, shifting in the back seat until Ethan had turned around and told him, “Now, now, watch the upholstery, McCall. We’re almost there and it wouldn’t do for him to find out you’ve destroyed that cheap fabric.” 

“Where are we going, anyway?” Scott asked, still angry but intrigued.

“You’ll see. You’ll be tied up here for awhile so you can afford to wait a few more minutes.” 

They’d pulled off the main highway onto the deserted exit and started up a small dirt road to the cabin. When they’d arrived, he saw Victoria and Gerard Argent and started to panic. They didn’t react to him; however, Ethan and Aiden grabbed him roughly and dragged him to the basement where he was chained up. They shredded his shirt off using their claws, being none too gentle with his chest. That was the beginning of the torture. Every morning, the Old Dude would come in and start asking questions. 

First he asked about the weather and with every sarcastic comment from Scott, he’d stab him, use a scalpel to peel off his flesh, or just whip him with a steel length of chain. Later, he started asking questions about Derek and about Peter. He started asking questions about people Scott didn’t even know, like some guy called Deucalion. 

Scott refused to answer anything honestly, no matter how much he was hurt. He tried to channel Stiles, making up stories about Deucalion, Derek, and Peter, going so far as to say that Peter was resurrected as a vampire and had lost all of his werewolf abilities. Old Dude laughed heartily before stabbing through Scott’s stomach with a letter opener over and over. He never thought anyone could feel this much pain and still be alive but he clung to it. After that particularly brutal session, he blacked out. 

This continued on and Scott lost track of days. Old Dude continued to question him but Scott had stopped saying anything. Only grunts and moans escaped his lips as he was tortured. Finally, even the questions had stopped. His blood covered the basement, the smell clogging his senses. And then he’d heard the voice. Stiles. Someone had come to rescue him and of course, Stiles was the only one smart enough to find him. Scott had lost hope that he’d be rescued but then he realized that Stiles was the only one he could hear.

And then hope was dashed as he saw Stiles herded onto the stairs. He glared over at him, eyes red in the darkness. 

After that, things had happened so quickly and he was freed, running out into the woods, shifted and out of control. He smelled Allison and Danny somewhere but made no effort to find them. He reveled in the freedom and then made his way home. He missed his mom desperately. He showed up hours later at the house, disheveled and filthy, leaves clinging to the remnants of his jeans and his hair. His mother was awake, looking gaunt and drawn, bags under her eyes. She stared at Scott like he was a ghost and smacked him before pulling him in to a crushing hug. 

The next morning, Danny called him and agreed to come by and pick him up to take him over to see Stiles. Scott was embarrassed but Danny had convinced him to at least try to make amends. He had to make Stiles forgive him. And after that, he was going to try to make things work with Allison. When he smelled her at Stiles’s house, his heart leapt. 

 

Scott held onto Allison while she cried messily into his t-shirt, soaking his chest with her tears and snot. “I know they’re not my family, not really,” she sobbed, “but seeing my mom’s body filled with bullets like that…” She clung to Scott and kept crying.

“Get it out, Allison, it’s okay,” Scott soothed her, stroking her back while she wept. He hadn’t seen the bodies and he couldn’t imagine what she was going through but he was going to be here for her, like he wasn’t before and like he wasn’t for Stiles. 

“I’m sorry I said I needed time. I blamed you still for my mom’s death, even though I knew it wasn’t you who did it. My grandfather lied in his letter to me. He said she wrote it, but I shouldn’t have believed him. It wasn’t even in her handwriting. I was just filled with grief. I’m so sorry, Scott, for everything,” she whined. Scott held her more tightly, letting her know that he’d be there for her.

 

When Stiles woke up, the sun had already gone down. He had somehow been maneuvered under the covers and Derek was pressed up against his back, arm wrapped still around Stiles’s waist. He could feel Derek’s even breaths at the nape of his neck and figured he was still asleep. He tried to extricate himself from the werewolf’s hold on his waist but Derek wasn’t letting go. Stiles had to piss so badly he thought he was going to wet the bed.

“Derek,” Stiles whispered, “let me go, dude, I’ve got about two gallons of pee sitting in my bladder and it hurts.”

Derek groaned but released him. Stiles slid his feet out from under Gabriel who woke up and gave Stiles the stink eye for disturbing his sleep. Stiles stuck his tongue out at him and darted out to the hallway to get to the restroom. His father was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. 

“Do we need to have another talk already, Stiles?” he asked, eyebrow cocked.

“Can it wait until after I’ve pissed for an hour?” Stiles snarked as he jetted into the bathroom. 

After he’d relieved himself and washed his hands, he calmly opened the door and leaned against the wall in the hallway. “What do we need to talk about this time, Dad?”

“Is everything okay? Derek treating you well?” His father took his queue and leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms and staring at Stiles. 

“I fell asleep, that’s all. I was tired. It’s been a pretty stressful twenty four hours, Pops.” Stiles sighed heavily. “Is there a rule that I can’t take a nap with Derek, completely clothed, by the way, that I don’t know about? We didn’t have sex, Dad. No sexy times in Casa Stilinski.” 

The Sheriff reached over and put his hand on Stiles’s arm. “That’s not what I’m asking, son. I don’t want to know about your ‘sexy times’ with Derek, Stiles. I’m asking if you’re okay. You were kidnapped and now you’ve found out that you’re bonding with a male werewolf. You’re going to want to be around him all of the time. It’s part of your pack bond and the mate bond. I’m not going to interfere with that, I promise. It’s bound to be a lot to take in. I’m asking if you’re doing okay with all of this craziness in your life.”

Stiles stepped over and hugged his dad. “I’m glad you care, Dad. I’m doing what I can to deal with this. Just, being with Derek right now is really helping me. I can’t explain it. I just feel calm around him. Thank you for understanding. I’m going to go back and get some more sleep, okay? You need to sleep, too. Have you even slept since yesterday?”

The Sheriff shook his head. “No, just on my way to bed now. I wanted to make sure that you’re okay first. You’ll always be my priority, son. Never forget that.”

“I won’t. Love you, Dad.” 

“Love you, too, kiddo,” said Andy and he ruffled Stiles’s buzz cut head before heading down the hallway to his room. 

Stiles turned around and went back into his room and changed into some Power Ranger lounge pants that he had gotten for Christmas from Scott last year. He took off his long sleeve button up and kept his t-shirt on. He went back into Derek’s room, hoping that he could slip unnoticed back into the bed to be held by Derek, still hoping this wasn’t all a dream. Derek leaned up when he walked in and raised the covers for him. Stiles grinned, nearly splitting his face, and hurried up to get under the blankets before Derek changed his mind. Derek pulled him in close and nuzzled into Stiles’s neck and promptly fell back asleep. 

Stiles was suddenly wide awake. Everything Derek said earlier came crashing into him. Necromancer. Research. Resurrecting his mother, Derek’s family. Holy crap! How had he let himself sleep with all of this needing to be done? 

Once again he tried to get out of the bed and out of Derek’s iron grip and once again he was denied. “Derek! Let me go, I need to start finding out about the necromancer! I can’t waste time sleeping all night!”

Derek moved his head back from Stiles’s neck and muttered, “Stiles, you need to sleep or you won’t be effective. I need to sleep and I sleep better with you here. Nothing is going to happen tonight. We have until the next full moon. Sleep now and I’ll help you in the morning. 

Stiles stayed but his mind was racing. He was trying to think of all the search parameters he’d need and all the crank sites he was sure to find. 

“Stiles, you’re thinking too loudly. It’s keeping me up. Just relax, sleep.” Derek easily flipped him over, like he weighed nothing, pulling Stiles up to him, wrapping his arm around Stiles’s chest. 

“Am I always going to be the little spoon? I’m sensing a pattern here, Alpha.”

“Shhhh, go to sleep. You’re exhausted,” Derek whispered into his ear. 

“If you do that again, I’ll never get to sleep,” Stiles whispered back.

Gabriel grunted at the end of the bed. He got up and jumped down, padding across the hall to go sleep on the end of the Sheriff’s bed. 

“That was awkward,” said Stiles. 

“Hush.” Derek pulled Stiles closer, nudging the nape of his neck with his nose. He took a deep breath and warmly exhaled onto Stiles’s spine. 

“Getting more awkward,” Stiles said quietly.

Derek huffed. “I can’t stop breathing, Stiles. I want you to stay here with me, to sleep, but if it’s going to be a problem…”

“Nope, didn’t say that. Go to sleep, oh wofly one. I’ll be fine.” Stiles started thinking about lacrosse and old ladies. Before he knew it, he was asleep. 

 

Old Dude was patient. You didn’t get to be his age by being impulsive. He was certain that Derek would deliver Deucalion to him. Somehow, when he’d killed the rest of the Alpha pack, Deucalion had slipped away. The first time anyone had escaped him. The spell he was trying to cast required the heart of an Alpha pack Alpha. Without that, everything he’d planned would come to nothing. He paced back and forth in the small apartment he’d had one of his puppets rent for him, patiently planning the next phase of his plan. Once Derek brought him the final ingredient, things would get very interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly fluff - A bit shorter but the best place to stop before the next part.


	8. Bonding

That evening, the sheriff and Stiles brought up chairs to Derek’s room and sat down to discuss the ramifications of bonding. The conversation was awkward, as Derek had feared it would be, but Andy understood his reticence and discomfort and tried to be as diplomatic as possible when discussing the relationship with his son. 

“I know Derek hasn’t explained everything to you, Stiles, and not because he doesn’t want to, but because he doesn’t know,” the sheriff glanced over to Derek and then focused back on Stiles. “I really don’t want to have this conversation with you either; unfortunately, I’m the only one who can.” Andy leaned forward, palm against his forehead, and groaned. “Your mother was much better at these sorts of things.”

“Dad,” Stiles whined, “we already had the sex talk. Please don’t make me go through that again.”

“This isn’t a sex talk,” Andy admonished him gently. “This is about mates and werewolves and what it all entails. Your mother, she was friends with Talia, Derek’s mother.” Derek and Stiles both looked up to the sheriff, Derek with a newfound sense of respect, Stiles with a look of surprise changing when he glanced at Derek to sympathy. “I ended up getting to know her and your father a bit, Derek. They were true mates, bonded for life. You know that she had your grandfather bite him, right?”

Derek nodded. His father was the only werewolf in the Hale family who was not a born wolf. Derek had siblings who were only human, and siblings who were werewolves so it wasn’t as big of a deal as it might have been in a more traditional werewolf pack. His father, Jason, was as imposing as any born wolf, even before the bite, if the stories his uncles and aunts told were true. He’d been an orphan, and grew up in the streets of San Francisco near the children’s home, learning to fend for himself when he wasn’t at the library, reading everything he could get his hands on. The architecture of San Francisco enthralled him, and often he would find himself staring at columns or buttresses or any of the many beautiful churches scattered through the city. He’d proved to be quick at his studies and after he’d had himself emancipated from the state at seventeen, enrolled in college to study structural engineering. He met Talia then at school, where she was studying architecture. He walked out of class and bumped into her. He found out later that she could have moved but after picking up on his scent, she stood her ground, wanting him to run into her. He picked up her books and when he stood up, they locked eyes. He had never been in love until that moment and he was smitten. 

“I knew she’d asked Poppa to bite him. She said it was one of the most difficult decisions she ever had to make. The risks were huge, although he was still young and the bite usually takes on younger, healthy people.” Derek shrugged. “I’m happy it worked out, I guess, or I wouldn’t be here.”

Andy looked at Derek, “Then I suppose you can figure out what one of my main concerns is right now regarding Stiles?”

Derek looked up and scratched the back of his neck. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered it but this isn’t my decision, sir. This is Stiles’.”

“Actually, it’s not his decision, not yet. When he’s eighteen, it can be his decision, and even then, I’m going to argue against it. Even a small risk is too high to take as far as I’m concerned.” 

“He is sitting right here,” interjected Stiles, “and he doesn’t want to be a werewolf. Unless he’s dying and the bite can save him. That would be okay. Or maybe if he got into professional sports and hurt his ankle and they told him he wouldn’t be able to play anymore. That would be okay, too.”

“Stop talking in third person, Stiles, it’s distracting.” Andy stood up. “And you’ll respect his wishes in this, Derek?”

Derek looked over at Stiles. “Of course I will.”

“And, God help us, if something happens to Stiles and he’s dying, I’ll ask you myself to bite him right there and then, but otherwise no biting Stiles, agreed?” Andy looked directly at Derek, to make sure he’d made his point.

Stiles blurted out, “What if I want to be bitten, not like ‘The Bite,’” he asked, using his fingers to form quote marks in the air to emphasize his point, “but like fun biting?” 

Derek’s face took on a scarlet hue and the sheriff looked horrified. “What if I don’t at any point in my life ever want to know about any possible sexual kinks you may have, Stiles? Don’t I have the right to remain ignorant in at least some things? Have a little decency, boy. I brought you up better than that. Ugh, we’re getting off topic. Stiles is off the table for being turned into a werewolf for the foreseeable future. Agreed?”

Derek and Stiles nodded in unison. 

“Now, let’s talk a little bit about what this bonding will cause, from what I’ve heard from your father, Derek. I won’t be able to really explain it from the werewolf perspective but I asked enough questions of him to hopefully have a basic understanding of what Stiles can possibly expect. First though, when did you stop having feelings for Lydia, Stiles?”

Stiles spluttered, “Why, that’s blasphemous to even suggest, Dad! How can you even ask that? You wouldn’t even help me out when I asked for a bigger allowance the week before her birthday!”

Andy shook his head slowly. “That only proves my point, Stiles. That’s the last time I’ve even heard you speak about her in any romantic context. I’m guessing that’s sometime around when you started seeing more of Derek. You may not have known what was happening but the bond was beginning to kick in, even then. Now there’s a lot of this I don’t understand, whether it’s science, or fate, or magic, or whatever. I’d like to think it’s something you can control but even if it’s not, there’s something reassuring about knowing that you’re with your perfect partner. I’m not really thrilled with the age difference but in a couple of years it won’t matter. Derek and I had a nice conversation about that already.”

Stiles flopped back in his chair. “Why is this my life?”

“So,” Andy continued, immune to Stiles’ antics, “you’re going to want to be in close proximity to each other. Your bond will make Derek stronger, and you, Stiles. Not superhero strong so don’t go doing anything stupid. Well, stupider than normal.” That earned Andy a glare.

“You’ll have more stamina, a bit more strength, you’ll need less sleep, your hearing and eyesight will improve, as well as your sense of smell. These are things you probably won’t notice quickly as the changes will be gradual. This is a for life type of deal here, Stiles. You’re still at the point where you can back out of it, if you want, but I’m pretty sure for Derek, this is it. Am I right, Derek?” the sheriff turned his head to the dark haired werewolf.

Derek looked down at his hands. “Yes, sir.”

“That’s what I thought. Not to put any pressure on you Stiles, but you need to know all of the facts.”

“Derek told me this stuff already. He had your flash cards,” Stiles huffed. “I’ve already made up my mind. The only thing I can’t figure out is why it’s the two of us? I mean, two men, really. The whole idea of bonding, of finding your perfect mate, is breeding, really. When it comes down to it, isn’t that the point, make more little werewolves?”

Derek hesitantly raised his hand. “Stiles, I may know the answer to that one.” 

“I thought you graduated already, Derek,” Stiles motioned to his raised hand. “If you want to talk, just speak.”

Derek shrugged, “Just trying to be polite. Anyway, before I was interrupted I was going to point out why this is a possibility. In an area with a well established pack, you don’t always need more. Sometimes it’s about maintaining a balance in numbers so you don’t cause a situation where the territory will use up all of its resources providing for too many members of a pack. The Hale pack was well established and this bond may have begun at birth.”

“That actually kind of makes sense,” Stiles mused. “I couldn’t actually figure out the logistics of why there’d be gay lykanthropoi.”

“I’m not actually gay, Stiles.” Derek pointed out. “I mean, I guess I am now but it’s never been something I’ve even thought about until now, being with a man.” 

The sheriff made a coughing noise into his hand and cut in, “Let’s not worry about labels right now, okay? I’ve told you what I know about this and it’s getting time for me to head out to the office. You guys probably have a lot to talk about. Just do me a favor while I’m gone: hands above the waist only.”

“Dad,” Stiles burst out, “he’s practically a cripple!” Derek just nodded solemnly. 

Andy put his hand up to cut him off. “Don’t you ‘dad’ me, Stiles. You’re seventeen and I’m not stupid. I know what seventeen year olds want to do. I also know what’s legal and what’s not, magical bonding aside. Keep out of each other’s pants and for God’s sake don’t ruin poor Gabriel who probably heard all of this anyway.” A loud woof from down the hall confirmed that. “Don’t think I won’t ask him if my one simple rule is being followed when I get home.”

The sheriff got up to leave and turned around to look at Stiles and Derek. “I love you, Stiles. You’re the last Stilinski and I don’t want anything to happen to you. Derek, take care of him for me.” He left before Stiles or Derek had a chance to respond. 

Gabriel padded into the room. He’d transformed back into a boy and hopped up on the bed folding himself into Derek’s side, clearly much more comfortable with Derek. “You okay, big man?” Stiles asked. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” 

“Ever loquacious,” Stiles quipped. “Love those Hale traits.” He grinned at the two brothers, really noticing the strong family resemblance for the first time: the deep brown almost black shock of hair on both their heads, Derek’s haphazard from being stuck in the bed for the last few weeks; the same pale skin that never seemed to tan; and Gabriel’s eyes were a similar shade, possibly less green in them but still the strong hazel color that Derek’s had. It was impossible to see the myriad of changing colors in those eyes the same way each time he looked. When had he started really noticing Derek’s eyes like that? Ugh, he had it bad and he knew it.

Derek broke the silence. “Hey, before we start talking there are some things we need to get done. These people or whatever who are after us? We need to figure out what their next move is. Do you think Allison or Scott would be willing to talk with Chris Argent to see if he knows anything?” 

“I’ll give ‘em a call, ‘Rek.” Derek raised an eyebrow at the new nickname but said nothing. Stiles pulled out his phone and dialed Scott who picked up almost immediately.

“What’s up, bro? How’re you man?” Scott inquired cheerfully.

“Real good, dude. Need a favor, if you’re up to it?” 

“Of course, what can I do?” Scott asked.

‘Um,” Stiles paused a second, “I need you and Allison to maybe talk with Chris Argent to see if he’s figured out anything about these people who keep kidnapping us?”

“How’d you know Allison was with me?”

“I didn’t until you just said she was, potato. So, will you do it?”

Stiles heard Scott put his hand over the receiver of the phone and sighed. One day, he’d have to show him how to hit the mute button. He heard muffled voices and then Scott’s hand being removed. “Yeah, we can head over there right now. I’ll call you when we’re done.”

“Thanks man, you’re the best. Sorry, I had to ask this of you but it’s got to get done and I don’t want to leave Derek alone until we know what’s going on.”

“It’s all good. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.” Scott hung up.

 

Scott squirmed in his seat as Allison drove them to her father’s home. She’d called ahead to let him know they were coming and that it was not a social visit. “What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t know. You know your dad hates me, plus, I don’t really want to be hunted, you know?” Scott looked away and pretended to look at the houses as they drove by.

“My dad doesn’t hate you, he hates that you’re a werewolf.”

“That’s a little too close to ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ as far as I’m concerned.” Scott crossed his arms defensively. “I didn’t choose this and I don’t like how he watches me like I’m going to snap and start attacking people.”

Allison looked over at Scott, sympathy showing in her eyes. “Scott, I’m not defending my father in this, you know I think he’s wrong. What I can say is that he grew up his entire life thinking werewolves are killers. He won’t change overnight. He is changing though. Give it some time. Give him a reason to trust you.” 

Scott huffed, “I think he should be giving me a reason to trust him.” 

The meeting at the Argent home was just as awkward as Scott had thought it would be. He could tell Chris was trying to be polite and to respect Allison’s request to treat Scott as an ally and not as an enemy but it was putting him on edge. Allison spoke quickly with Chris, telling them what they knew so far and asking him if he had any information from his contacts. Chris was able to find very little, but he did learn of a group of hunters in the Sacramento area who still worshipped Anubis and followed a skewed version of the current code. 

“I don’t want you going down there though, Allison. They’re not people I trust. They’ll also have heard that you are living with a werewolf and that will not go well for you. I can’t protect you from them if you’re out of my territory,” Chris began. “Also, I’m not sure…”

“Dad,” Allison interrupted, “if that’s what you think, then come with us.” Scott, startled, looked over at her, eyes bugged. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go there at all. You don’t know what you’d be walking in to. I can’t protect you from that, Allison.” Chris started to pace. “These hunters, they don’t just hunt werewolves. They think what we do is child’s play. They’re vicious and trained to kill just about anything.”

“Can you talk to them directly, Mr. Argent, just leave us out of it completely? I mean by phone, of course, not go to them. It’s just… This information is really important. We have nothing, no information, and no idea how to stop any of this.” Scott hadn’t spoken yet and Chris looked him directly in the eye. 

“And how, Scott, do you propose I do that? If I had a contact for them, don’t you think I would have used it?” Chris pointed out. 

Scott set his jaw and went on stubbornly, “I don’t know what you do, Mr. Argent. I don’t know how you people set up your murder trade, how you share information on whomever or whatever you’re going to kill. What I do know is that Allison could have been killed at the Hale house when they broke in. I also know that Stiles could have been killed. I could have been killed, Mr. Argent. Is that an acceptable loss to you?”

“Scott, you know that I don’t feel that your death would be an acceptable loss. I’m trying to keep you alive. All of you. Don’t you see that?” Chris sat down on the sofa and sighed. “This isn’t easy for me. I know it’s not easy for you, or for you either, Allison. Look, I’ll do what I can. I can’t contact them directly. They know I’ve allowed the werewolves to stay here, that I don’t hunt them. They don’t care that you haven’t harmed anyone. I have some people I trust, a few hunters who follow the same code I do. I’ll see what I can do. Just promise me you won’t run down to Sacramento. I can’t lose you, too, Allison. I just can’t do it.”

“That’s all I’m asking, Dad.” Allison bent down and hugged her father. “I’m sorry that this is happening. We’re trying to make everything better. We just don’t know how yet.”

 

 

Ethan sat down on a jutting rock deep in the trees and put his face in his hands and quietly wept. He had buried his brother deep in the woods surrounding the small cabin where he’d been killed and his hands were caked in dirt, forest detritus, and his brother’s blood. He’d always followed his brother’s lead and when they’d been captured by Aapep, he’d looked to his brother for instructions. Aiden, recognizing the superior strength, had immediately knelt down and offered his allegiance to Aapep so Ethan did the same. They’d watched him tear apart Ennis and Kali as if they were nothing more than wet tissue paper, their blood still painted the walls of the high rise penthouse condo they’d used as a base of operations in Beacon Hills. Deucalion had fled at the first opportunity, leaping from the balcony to the next roof and quickly disappearing into the alleys below, showing his true nature that Ethan and Aiden had already begun to suspect that he had. Why else surround yourself with other Alphas? 

He stood up and started the long walk toward the condo. He had some items there that he wanted and then he was going to disappear, too. He hadn’t heard from Aapep since the massacre at the cabin, not that he’d expected to. He had no reception up here and with his brother gone, he really wasn’t an Alpha anymore. He was an omega, powerless and without pack. He set his shoulders and continued on. As he got closer to the cabin, he noticed a scent in the air he hadn’t noticed before, maybe because of the magic that prevented any scents to be carried, maybe because he was so distracted when he saw his brother killed in front of him. Strange. The smell was so familiar, comfortable, yet nothing he’d ever smelled before. It led him to a tree with low hanging branches and he quickly climbed the tree to find the scent concentrated in a crook of the branches. It clearly belonged to a person, some sort of expensive cologne, the natural human muskiness below that smell, and some traces of fear woven in. He jumped out of the tree and followed the weaker scent to the cabin, then away from there down to the turnout from the highway. Whoever’s scent that was ended there, presumably when he got into a vehicle. 

He walked out onto the highway and stuck out his thumb. He figured the quickest way back to Beacon Hills was to hitchhike and he wasn’t worried about anyone hurting him. Even as an omega, he’d be able to protect himself from any human. A few hours later, he found himself being dropped off at a truck stop a little under a mile from the border of Beacon Hills. He thanked the driver and headed off into the sparse tree cover a little way off of the highway and dropped to all fours to run into town. As he neared the school, he picked up that scent again. So slight amidst all the others but to Ethan it was like a tractor beam, drawing him in. He followed where it led, oblivious to anything around him. 

He ended up in front of a small blue home with white trim, white picket fences, and a well maintained garden full of blooming roses, lavender, and hibiscus plants. He snuck around the side of the house, looking to see if he was being watched, and easily hopped over the small fence and onto the path that led to the backyard. He could hear only one heartbeat in the house, a calm thud thud that sounded so familiar and yet he was sure he hadn’t heard it before. The sliding glass door on the back porch was open so he walked into the house, homing in on the sound of that pulsing heart. He saw the short black hair poking out over the back of the couch and suddenly noticed that the television was on, a fashion reality show with people marching across the stage in what looked to him to be ridiculous pieces of clothing, all awkward angles and colors matched together by someone who in his opinion may have had a difficult time with colors. He cleared his throat, knowing that there was no way to announce his presence without startling this man sitting with his back toward him. He’d been so hushed in his entrance there was no way he’d been detected. As he suspected, the man jumped up, hand going up to his throat in surprise, eyes darting around presumably to find something that could be used as a weapon. 

Ethan hurriedly raised his hands, an effort to show he was not armed and to calm the startled man. “I’m Ethan. I, uh, noticed the glass door was open so I…”

“You what? Just walked in to someone’s house? What do you want?”

“Uh, you smell really good?” Ethan had no idea what to say. He hadn’t actually thought about any of this before, just fixated on trying to find the origin of the smell he’d encountered in the woods. 

“Oh. My. God. Are you another freakin’ werewolf? Really? What did I do to deserve this?” Danny sat down in the recliner where he could keep a better eye on Ethan. “Why are you here? When you said I smell good, does that mean you’re going to kill me and eat me?” 

Ethan backed up quickly, hands dropping back to his sides. “No, I don’t know even know why I said that. I’ll leave.”

Danny stood up quickly, “No, you don’t have to leave. Just, explain what you meant. You seem familiar. Do I know you from somewhere? School maybe? I think I’d remember if you were in any of my classes. You one of Stiles’ friends?”

“Not exactly. Can I sit down? It’s been a long day.” Ethan gestured to the couch, unwilling or unable to take his eyes off of Danny. Ethan always knew he was attracted to men, had had quick dalliances from time to time but nothing lasting. He and Aiden were always on the move and he’d been interested in nothing more than the rough physical intimacy, eager to leave as soon as his satisfaction had been reached. This man, however, was stunning, his scent intoxicating to the young werewolf, and he wanted to surround himself in it, bury his nose into his neck and just breathe it in.

“Ethan, I’m Danny. Why don’t you go down and clean up in the restroom. It’s right down the hall there, to your left,” Danny pointed. “I’ll just get us a couple of drinks and maybe we can chat about how you ended up in my living room, okay? My parents won’t be home for a few hours.”

 

After yesterday’s partly awkward and totally mortifying conversation with Stiles’ father, Stiles had stayed in the room with Derek, fidgeting mostly, unable to quell his nervousness. 

Gabriel had left after a few minutes, claiming the need to finish up a reading assignment that Lydia had given him. He enjoyed his work with her, and she adored him. He’d been eating more, filling out a bit, no longer an emaciated boy and his wolf form reflected that; shiny, healthy, and lustrous thick fur, soft to the touch. His ribs were no longer visible as a wolf. 

“Stiles, what’s bothering you?” Derek asked, not wanting to insult Stiles but knowing that he clearly had something he wanted to say. 

“I am trying to figure out the best way to ask this of you and not try to take advantage of you. You just seem to have to deal with the worst all the time and I don’t want to ask anything more of you.” Stiles looked down at the ground, embarrassed. 

Derek steeled himself for the worst. He was prepared to do what he could for his mate, no matter how distasteful. He should have known that having a mate wouldn’t mean that things would get easier and that he’d still be forced to do things he didn’t want to do.

“Ask,” he growled. 

“It’s just,” Stiles started, “oh God, this is so humiliating. I’ve been having trouble sleeping and I was wondering if you’d mind if I slept in here? Like more than just once? I just slept so well last night and I know it’s an imposition but…”

“Stiles. I don’t mind. In fact, I’d like that.” Derek mentally chastised himself for thinking the worst and Stiles sighed in relief, his humiliation quickly fading. 

“Great! I’m exhausted. I’m just going to change into my pajamas real quick like and grab a pillow? Is that okay?” Stiles asked as he ran out of the room. “Gabe, don’t stay up too late, okay, bud? Dad’s working all night and I’ll get breakfast in the morning for all of us when he’s off, deal?” 

“Sure thing, Stiles. It won’t take me too long to finish this.” Gabriel paused, “Do you mind if I sleep in your bed tonight, Stiles?”

“Any time, man. My bed is your bed.” Stiles finished changing and reached for his pillow. “Pillow’s mine though, dude. You can grab another one from the hall closet, okay?”

“Okay. It’ll be nice to have one that’s not crusted over with drool for once.” Gabriel looked up at Stiles, smirking.

“Derek!” Stiles yelled. “Keep your pack under control! I won’t stand for the insubordination in my own house!” He winked at Gabriel and leaned down for a quick hug, surprised when Gabriel hugged him back. “Remember, little man, breakfast in the morning so don’t stay up too late.” 

He hurried down the hallway to what he now thought of as Derek’s room. “Scoot over so I can get in.” 

Derek expected Stiles to stay up all night asking questions but he just slid under the covers, back to Derek, and bunched up his pillow before resting his head. “Good night,” Stiles blurred out sleepily. 

“Good night, Stiles. I’m just going to read a bit more before turning out the light if that’s okay with you.” Derek reached for the book he’d been reading earlier in the day, still on the nightstand. 

“The light won’t bug me at all,” was the last thing Stiles said before he passed out.

 

The weak light of dawn that filtered through the gauzy curtains was more than enough for Derek to read by. He turned another page of his novel, enjoying the warmth of Stiles’ breath on his stomach while he read. He looked down at Stiles, how peaceful he looked, with his arm wrapped around Derek’s waist, head resting comfortably on Derek, mouth slightly open. He resisted the urge to run his hand through Stiles’ now slightly longer dark hair, not wanting to awaken him. Stiles sometimes spoke when he slept, usually mumbled garble and occasionally in complete sentences that Derek was unable to piece together. He slept now, silent, the usual constant motion quieted. 

The shriek of the alarm clock caused Stiles’ arm to fly out almost supernaturally fast to slam down on the shut off button. He quickly realized that he was using Derek’s stomach as a pillow and sheepishly looked up at Derek who was looking down at him.

“Wow, um, sorry about that, ‘Rek.” I didn’t mean to be all up in your space, man. I’m moving now, okay?” Stiles moved to get off of the bed and felt Derek’s hand close around his arm. 

He looked back at Derek. “Can you not apologize to me for being comfortable, for touching me, Stiles? I like it. If I didn’t I’d let you know, okay?”

Stiles grinned slowly. He reached out toward Derek’s face, unthinking. “Is this okay?”

Derek nodded. Stiles cupped his jaw, feeling the rough stubble in his palm. He traced Derek’s jawbone with his finger. Derek resisted the urge to lean into Stiles’ palm, not wanting to scare him but at the same time wanting more contact with Stiles. Stiles stared at Derek’s lips, fixated. He moved his hand away, backing up from the bed. “I’m going to run down and get some breakfast ready for Gabriel and Dad. I’ll bring some up for you, okay?”

Derek stretched out, lazily, then pulled the covers back. He dropped his legs over the side of the bed and stood up a little shakily. “How long is it going to take you to get everything ready? I’d really like a shower.”

“Pointing out the obvious here but you just stood up, ‘Rek. How long has that been a thing?” Stiles continued to stare.

“I think since last night? I’m not sure. I could feel my toes yesterday and then it started really healing in the night, while you were sleeping on me.” 

Stiles could feel a tear slipping out of his eye and he hastily wiped it away. “You’re okay,” he whispered. “I was so worried that you weren’t going to be okay.” He walked up slowly and Derek opened his arms, swallowing him in a hug. 

Stiles stepped back and scrunched his nose. “You,” he pointed, “need a shower. I need to go get breakfast. We’ll talk more about this when you’re clean.”

Derek’s lip quirked upward in a weak attempt at a smile and he headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up. He could hear Stiles singing softly to himself in the kitchen, the smells of turkey bacon and eggs filling the house. He grabbed the sheets off of the bed and headed downstairs to the laundry room. “They’re pretty rank,” he said to Stiles as he passed him to drop them into the washer. “I have no idea how you were able to sleep next to me. I guess I’d gotten used to it.” 

“It’s funny, I didn’t even notice.” Stiles went back to plating the eggs, bacon, and English muffins he’d toasted. 

Sheriff Stilinski’s voice floated through the house, “Stiles, I’m home! I’ll be in the kitchen in a sec, just dropping off my jacket!”

Gabriel wandered down the stairs, bleary eyed but hungry, Isaac following him. He’d been sleeping in a sleeping bag in Stiles’ room. Gabriel plopped down at the table and started digging into the food Stiles had set in front of him. “You’re welcome,” Stiles said and stuck out his tongue at him as he put plates in front of Derek and Isaac who had sat down next to Gabriel and in the empty spot where he knew his father would be momentarily. He sat on the other side of Derek and dug into his own food. Derek explained to Andy and Gabriel what limited information he’d already told Stiles regarding his ability to walk again.

 

After Andy had gone up to his room to try to get some sleep, Isaac joined the three of them in the living room, bringing down Stiles’ gaming console from his room to help pass the time. Stiles sat down on the couch next to Gabriel and Isaac pulled a recliner over to the side in order to see the television. They raced against each other for a couple of hours, harassing and cheering each other on as they went. Gabriel ended up being surprisingly good, usually winning the races with Isaac a close second. Derek was hopeless but having a good time. He was content to be near Stiles, his brother, and Isaac. It had been a long time since he’d felt anything this close to comfort. 

The howl startled all of them, except Stiles who didn’t hear anything above the racing sounds coming from the speakers. A second howl joined into the first, a cry for help, of desperation, of hopelessness. Isaac leaped off the recliner, heading toward the back door, half shifted, Gabriel right behind him as a full wolf. Derek remained wholly human but raced to the back door, staring at the woods. He nodded at Isaac who jumped out into the afternoon and took off on all fours into the woods behind the Stilinski home. Gabriel looked back at Derek, who shook his head. “Not this time, little brother, we don’t know what’s going on.”

“What’s happening? Why did Isaac take off like that?” Stiles stared at Derek, awaiting a response. 

Derek indicated the direction from which the howling had originated. “It’s Boyd and Erica. A cry for help. Isaac is going to see if he can help them. I’m sure Peter is on his way, too. Stiles, it sounded so desperate. I just hope Isaac gets there in time.” Derek set down his game controller and went back to the couch. Gabriel jumped up and once again put himself between Stiles and Derek. 

“Do you need to go help him,” Stiles asked over Gabriel’s head.

“I’m staying here to make sure nothing happens to you. This could be a trap.”

Stiles stood up and paced, biting his nails as he did so. “What really happened with Boyd and Erica, Derek? You’ve never even talked about it.”

“They left me. They saw the Alpha symbol on my door and decided they’d rather take their chances with another Alpha.” Derek looked away, unable to meet Stiles’ eyes. “At the time, I didn’t try to fight for them, to make them stay. I’m not my mother, I really don’t know what I’m doing.”

“That’s not news, ‘Rek, but you’re figuring it out. And I’ll help you.” Stiles sat heavily on the couch, earning a glare from Gabriel. 

“Your phone’s ringing, Stiles,” Gabriel nodded toward the stairs. 

Stiles flew up the stairs, racing down the hallway to get his phone where he’d left it in the bedroom. “Hello?” he answered, out of breath.

“Stiles, it’s Isaac. I found Erica and Boyd. They’re okay but they’ve been through a lot. Can you come pick us up? We’re on the outskirts of the preserve but I can get us down to the main trail before you get here. Peter’s with us but he ran. They’ve got nowhere to go right now.” Isaac paused, “You still there, Stiles?”

“Yeah, just thinking. I’m on my way. I can get there in about fifteen minutes, okay? Just hang in there.” Stiles hung up the phone, ran into his bedroom and pulled on some jeans and a hoodie. Derek was at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him. 

“Oh, no. You’re staying here, Derek. You just got your legs back and I think you should rest. Besides, we all can’t fit in my jeep.” 

“That’s why Gabriel and I will follow you in the Camaro. I’m not letting you go alone, not after everything that’s happened and Gabriel can’t stay here alone.” Derek crossed his arms across his chest.

“What about my dad? Who’s going to watch out for him if you’re not here?”

“He’ll be fine, Stiles. He’s the sheriff and he can take care of himself for the time it takes us to get to the preserve and back.”

Stiles huffed and headed out the front door making for his Jeep. Derek and Gabriel followed and got into Derek’s Camaro, ready to follow. The drive to the preserve went by quickly with Stiles trying to create various scenarios in his mind as to what he’d find when he arrived. Nothing he thought of prepared him for what was waiting. Erica was being propped up by Isaac and Boyd was resting on a picnic table, using his hands as a pillow. They were both emaciated, clearly malnourished and Erica’s skin was sallow and yellowish. She was coughing and the rattling sound echoed up and out of her lungs. Boyd was wheezing and couldn’t seem to catch his breath.

Stiles skidded to a stop, the tires on the Jeep scrambling for purchase on the loose dirt of the entrance to the preserve hiking trails. He flew out his car, racing up to Isaac. “I thought you said they were okay?”

“Well, relatively. I’m not sure what’s happening to them. Maybe Derek will know?”

Derek pulled up right behind Stiles’ Jeep with a lot less dirt flying up. He and Gabriel got out of the Camaro and went to check on Boyd. His nose wrinkled. “Wolfsbane,” he muttered. “Concentrated. How did this happen?”

Erica sneezed and her whole chest seemed to shake when she did. “I don’t remember much, Derek. We were locked in a room, like a vault or something, and this morning the door was just open. I thought we were going to die. We’d been in there for days with no food, no water. We ran out and I tripped on something, a wire, I think, and suddenly this gas came out of the wall. We got through it and howled as soon as we got away from there. I didn’t think you’d come.” Erica started crying, trying to support herself and nearly falling before Isaac put his arm around her.

“Isaac, help her into the Jeep. I’ll get Boyd. We’re going to Deaton’s now. Stiles, call him and let him know we’re on the way.” Derek picked up Boyd in a fireman’s carry and hefted him over to the Jeep, gently sitting him up in the back seat. 

Isaac maneuvered Erica into the other side and then climbed into the front seat. Stiles had called Deaton and was speaking rapidly into the phone. Yes, they’d found Erica and Boyd. Yes, they seemed sick but all they knew is that it was from some type of wolfsbane. No, he didn’t have any of what was used. He hung up the phone and hopped into the Jeep. “Let’s go. He’ll meet us there.” 

He pulled out onto the road and drove as fast as legally possible to get to the clinic. Deaton was just pulling in when they arrived and he unlocked the door and ushered them in. Derek was supporting Boyd who had woken up on the drive over and Isaac was holding Erica bridal style. Deaton turned on the lights and had them set Boyd and Erica on each of the medical tables. He checked their pulses and eye dilation before setting down his equipment. 

“From what I can tell, this was a gas. The only type of wolfsbane I know of that can be converted that way without losing its potency is from the roots of the Aconitum ferox. I’ve got some here that we can use to counteract this.” Deaton moved efficiently in the clinic, putting on gloves before pulling out a glass container with the bulbs of the wolfsbane plant. He put on a face mask and went into a smaller room to the side of the operating room, warning everyone to avoid the dust from grinding the bulbs. The four of them crowded to the far wall of the room while Deaton worked, Gabriel behind Stiles, occasionally peeking around him to look at the gasping werewolves on the tables. He came out and lit the ground bulbs on fire before reaching in with a gloved finger and removing a small smear. 

“This is going to taste terrible but you’ll need to swallow it for it to work as a curative.” He placed a small amount first on Erica’s tongue and as she started gagging and choking, he moved over to Boyd. “Derek, hold her down. She’ll convulse for a moment before she starts healing from this. Isaac, come over here and hold Vernon.” He repeated the process with Boyd, quickly removing his fingers as Boyd’s teeth elongated. 

Boyd and Erica thrashed for what seemed like forever but really only lasted a minute or two. Stiles walked up and held Erica’s hand and she smiled weakly at him, a sheen of light sweat covering her forehead. “Thank you, Stiles, for saving us,” she whispered out and then closed her eyes. 

Boyd nodded stoically in Stiles’ direction and then he, too, closed his eyes, resting but not asleep like Erica. 

“They’ll probably need to rest for awhile, Derek, and then they’ll need a few days to recover from this. The wolfsbane most likely did a lot of internal damage that will take time to heal, even for them. Do you have someplace they can go? Someplace safe?” Deaton asked.

Stiles thought for a second and answered for Derek, “I’ll call my dad. He won’t be happy about it but he can’t turn away anyone. Let’s wait until they wake up before I call him though. He hasn’t gotten much sleep yet today.”

“They can certainly stay here until they wake up but after that, I can’t have them here too much longer. I have other patients to see.” Deaton left the room.

Stiles’ phone rang and he looked at the caller ID, number unknown. “Hello?” he answered cautiously.

“Stiles, it’s Danny. Dude, I’ve got a werewolf here at my house.” Stiles did a quick mental count. The only two he didn’t have present were Peter who he’d just left at the preserve and Scott, who Danny would have known. 

“Uh, who is it, Danny?”

“He said his name is Ethan.”

Boyd growled deeply, chest resonating. “Boyd, what is it?” Derek asked as he crossed the room. 

“Ethan, he’s one of the Alphas,” Boyd gritted out, throat still sore from the treatment.

Derek grabbed the phone from Stiles. “Danny, get out of there, he’s dangerous!” he hissed. 

“Derek, this is Ethan. I won’t do anything to Danny. He’s my mate.” 

Derek pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, like it had turned into a snake. He slowly put the phone back to his ear. “You hurt Danny and I’ll hurt you. Is that clear?”

“Yes. Can we meet? I have to talk to you about what I know, about what’s happening.”

“Do you know where the Hale house is, in the preserve?” Derek asked. 

Ethan paused, “Yes, I was there when the mark was put on the door.”

“We’ll be there this evening. You’ll be there with Danny safe, or I’ll find you.”

“I’ll be there.” Ethan hung up.  
Derek told Stiles what Ethan had said. Isaac had heard all of it, of course. “We’ve got to go to Danny’s right now!” Stiles shouted. “It’s not safe for him!”

“If he’s Ethan’s mate, there’s no safer place for him to be,” Derek answered. “He’d kill to protect him and I don’t want that sort of confrontation, not yet. C’mon, call your dad and make sure he’ll let Erica and Boyd recuperate there. You know, your house is turning into a halfway house for werewolves. I’m not sure how your dad’s going to feel about that.”

“He loves having people in the house although he’d never admit it. I’ll call him now. I’m sure he’ll be okay with it and then we can head over to the preserve after they’re set up in the living room.” Stiles realized he was running out of places to put people in the house. 

He pulled out the phone and clicked on his dad’s name under contacts. “Dad, it’s Stiles. Sorry to wake you. I have another favor to ask you?”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first attempt at a fan fic. I do not own any of these characters. The section titles are from a Sufjan Stevens song called "Sister." This is not Beta'd. Thank you for reading this.


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